'    HOWFARMERS COOPERA 
S  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS  § 


CLARENCE-POE  • 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


SIR  HORACE  PLUNKETT 

His  faithful  and  at  last  triumphantly  successful  work  in  getting  Irish  farmer* 

organized  for   business   co-operation    should   be   an    inspiration   to 

all  who  are  trying  to   effect   similar  results  in    our  own 

country.      (See  Chapters  XVIII.  XIX.  and  XX.) 


How  Farmers  Co-operate 
and  Double  Profits 

First-Hand  Reports  on  All  the  Leading  Forms  of  Rural 

Co-operation  in  the  United  States  and  Europe  — 

Stories  That  Show   How   Farmers   Can 

Co-operate    by    Showing     How 

They  Have  Done  It  and 

Are  Doing    It 


BY 

CLARENCE    POE 

Editor  "The  Progressive  Farmer;"  Member  Organization  Committee 

National  Conference  on  Marketing  and  Farm  Credits ;  Chairman 

Topics  Committee  National  Farmers'  Union  ;  Aathor  of 

"Cotton,"  "A  Southerner  in  Europe,"  "Where 

Half  the  World  Is  Waking  Up."  etc. 


^eh)  gork 
ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY,  Publishers 

lonbon 
Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Trubner  &  Company,  Limited 

1915 


Copyright  1915,  by  Clarence  Poe. 
All  Rights  Resewed 


ENTERED  AT  STATIONERS'  HALL. 
LONDON.  ENGLAND 


Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


HD 


p7^^li 


THIS    BOOK    IS    DEDICATED    TO 
THE    MEMORY    OF 

4Hp  Jf atfjer  anb  iHotter 

PLAIN,  HARD-WORKING  FARMER-FOLK.  WITH  WHOM  I  SHARED  THE 
POVERTY  AND  HARDSHIPS  OF  THE  DAYS  BEFORE  EDUCATION 
HAD  BROUGHT  THE  HOPE  OF  BETTER  THINGS,  OR  CO-OPERA- 
TION POINTED  OUT  THE  WAY -THE  DAYS  WHEN  NO  EQUI- 
TABLE SYSTEM  OF  RURAL  CREDITS  OFFERED  ESCAPE 
FROM  THE  ROBBERY  OF  "TIME  PRICES";  WHEN  OUT- 
WORN MARKETING  METHODS  LEFT  TO  OTHERS 
ALL  THE  HANDLING  OF  OUR  PRODUCTS  AND 
ALL  VOICE  IN  PRICING  WHAT  WE  BOUGHT 
OF  OTHERS  OR  WHAT  OTHERS  BOUGHT 
OF  US ;  AND  WHEN  THE  INEVITABLE 
MORTGAGE   FOLLOWED,  MENAC- 
ING LIKE  A  SWORD  OF  DAMO- 
CLES, WHILE  WE  TOILED. 

IN  THE  FAITH  THAT  THROUGH  CO-OPERATION  A 

FAIHEE  DAY  NOW  DAWNS  FOR  ALL  WHO  GROW  THE  FRUITS 

OF  THE  EARTH,  THIS  BOOK  IS  OFFERED  BY 

THE    AUTHOR 


ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 

The  author  has  endeavored  to  make  this  volume  a  prac- 
tical guide-book  on  the  subject  of  rural  co-operation — not 
a  book  setting  forth  what  might  be  done,  but  a  book  of 
actual  reports  of  what  has  been  done  and  is  doing;  stories 
based  on  first-hand  investigations. 

I  went  to  Ireland,  France  and  Denmark  and  have  visited 
State  after  State  in  our  own  Union  expressly  for  the  pur- 
pose of  seeing  on  the  spot  just  what  is  being  accomplished 
in  every  important  line  of  agricultural  co-operation  and 
then  giving  this  information  directly  to  my  readers.  There 
is,  I  believe,  just  one  conspicuous  success  in  agricultural 
co-operation  that  I  have  wholly  missed — the  co-operation 
of  citrus  fruit  growers  in  Florida  and  California.  I  have 
visited  both  these  States,  but  I  have  not  personally  in- 
vestigated their  citrus  fruit  organizations.  Nor  have  I 
been  able  to  visit  the  Arkansas  Cotton  Marketing  Associa- 
tion described  in  Chapter  XVI. 

In  keeping  with  the  spirit  of  this  volume,  I  have  thought 
it  best  to  have  both  these  activities  described,  as  other 
activities  are,  from  the  standpoint  or  personal  knowledge 
and  investigation.  I  am,  therefore,  indebted  to  my  friend. 
Prof.  W.  R.  Camp,  formerly  of  California,  for  preparing 
Chapter  XV  almost  as  it  stands,  and  to  my  friend  Prof. 
D.  N.  Barrow,  for  preparing  the  interesting  report  of  the 
Scott  jCotton  Growers'  Association  in  Chapter  XVI. 

C.  P. 


INTRODUCTION:  AN  APPEAL  FOR  LEADERSHIP 

THIS  book,  as  I  have  already  suggested,  is  intended 
as  a  guide-book  to  business  co-operation  among 
farmers.  And  yet  in  the  very  outset  I  would  say 
this  one  emphatic  word  to  the  reader:  We  may 
have  any  number  of  guide-books  on  co-operation,  we  may 
have  free  and  unlimited  lectures,  pamphlets,  bulletins,  etc., 
describing  the  advantages  of  co-operation,  and  yet  if  one 
thing  is  lacking  we  can  do  nothing.  That  one  thing  is 
Leadership. 

Knowledge,  Faith,  Leadership — this  is  the  trinity  of  es- 
sentials in  rural  co-operation,  and  the  greatest  of  these  is 
Leadership.  Give  us  Leadership  and  all  the  other  things 
will  be  added  to  us. 

Let  me,  therefore,  in  the  very  beginning  put  this  ques- 
tion to  the  reader:  Why  not  make  yourself  a  leader  of 
progress  in  your  neighborhood — a  leader  in  bringing  about  the 
co-operative  spirit  and  co-operative  effort f 

Co-operation  is,  indeed,  the  master  word  of  the  new  cen- 
tury, and  in  your  neighborhood  and  all  other  neighbor- 
hoods all  the  farmers  must  learn  to  work  together. 

You  can't  farm  profitably  any  longer  unless  you  do.  You 
must  work  with  your  neighbors  in  buying  fertilizers  and 
supplies.  You  must  work  with  them  in  buying  and  using 
modern  labor-saving  machinery.  You  must  work  with 
them  in  getting  more  and  better  live  stock.  You  must 
work  with  them  in  packing,  shipping  and  selling  your  crops 
after  you  grow  them.  You  must  work  with  them  to  de- 
velop some  system  of  rural  credits  whereby  men  may  help 
one  another  out  of  the  Slough  of  Debt  and  on  to  the  High- 
road of  Independence.  And  having  done  all  this,  it  will 
yet  remain  true  that  you  cannot  have  a  satisfying  life,  no 
matter  how  much  money  you  make,  unless  your  neighbors 


8  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

are  educated,  a  reading  people,  well-informed,  neighborly 
and  anxious  to  join  with  you  for  better  schools,  better  roads, 
prettier  homes,  a  richer  social  and  intellectual  life,  and  for  a 
happy,  "pull-together"  neighborhood. 

Get  the  vision,  then,  reader  friend,  young  or  old,  man  or 
woman :  You  can't  be  as  happy  as  you  ought  to  be  unless 
your  neighborhood  is  as  happy  as  it  ought  to  be.  You 
can't  prosper  as  you  ought  to  unless  your  neighbors  prosper 
as  they  ought  to.  Get  the  vision  and  keep  the  faith.  Make 
yourself  a  leader  In  revolutionizing  your  neighborhood. 

Hard  work?  We  know  it.  Slow  work?  There  is  no 
doubt  about  it.  But  go  to  it  with  the  foreknowledge  that 
the  work  will  be  hard  and  slow.  Go  to  it  even  with  the 
knowledge  that — hardest  of  all  to  bear — there  will  come 
bitter  days  when  the  very  men  you  yearn  to  help  will  judge 
you  wrongly  and  misinterpret  your  motives,  and  you  will 
weary  of  the  struggle  as  Jonah  did  under  his  gourdvine,  or 
Elijah  under  the  juniper  tree,  or  as  Moses  grew  sick  at 
heart  when  the  Canaan-bound  Hebrews  mutinied  because 
he  had  not  let  them  alone  in  their  bondage. 

Go  to  the  work,  we  say,  with  the  knowledge  that  it  will  not  be 
wholly  easy,  and  yet  with  the  knowledge  that  it  will  be  glorious 
in  the  end ;  glorious  even  if  you  do  not  see  the  end,  but  die  hav- 
ing only  inspired  someone  else  to  carry  on  the  task  you  could 
not  finish.  Be  glad  the  task  is  hard;  be  glad  it  is  a  man- 
sized  job.  There  would  be  no  heroism  in  doing  it  if  it 
were  not.  You  gain  no  strength  in  wrestling  with  the  weak, 
but  only  in  wrestling  with  the  strong.  And  so  you  win 
soul-strength,  strength  of  character,  only  by  doing  hard 
things.  "Oh,  do  not  pray  for  easier  tasks,"  as  someone 
has  well  said,  "but  pray  God  to  make  us  stronger  men." 
And  Dr.  S.  C.  Armstrong  said  a  thing  we  should  never  for- 
get when  he  declared:  "Doing  what  can't  be  done  is  the 
glory  of  living." 

Despite  all  the  difficulties,  therefore,  be  content  that  your 
own  life  will  be  incomparably  richer,  happier  and  more 
meaningful  if  you  will  but  throw  your  whole  soul  into  the 


INTRODUCTION  9 

big,  unselfish  task  of  making  your  community  what  it 
ought  to  be — a  community  of  comrade  farmers,  co-operat- 
ing farmers,  a  community  with  more  of  beauty  and  thrift 
and  neighborlincss  and  intellectual  stimulus  in  it  than 
would  ever  have  been  possible  but  for  your  efforts. 

And  in  working  out  such  an  ambition,  remember  that 
your  first  duty  is  to  get  your  neighbors  aroused.  You  must 
carry  knowledge  to  them,  and  not  only  knowledge  but 
inspiration.  You  must  work  with  them  and  at  them,  with 
infinite  patience,  to  make  them  a  reading  people — to  read 
the  books  and  papers  that  will  help  you  in  carrying  out 
your  ambition ;  and  you  must  get  them  together  early  and 
often  in  meetings  and  conferences.  You  must  especially 
watch  the  boys  and  girls  who  have  ambition  for  progress, 
nor  yet  despair  of  older  men  and  women  whose  inertia  and 
conservatism  may  yet  be  broken  through. 

Then,  too,  you  must  work  with  one  and  all  with  the 
knowledge  that  they  are  your  brothers  and  your  sisters — 
that  you  are  no  better  than  they,  and  that  some  neglected 
man  or  boy  in  the  shabbiest  clothes  and  in  the  meanest 
house  may  have  potentialities  greater  than  anybody  else 
in  the  neighborhood.  You  must  feel  yourself  always  a  co- 
worker and  never  a  commander ;  you  must  be  more  anxious 
to  develop  leadership  in  others  than  to  have  any  prominence 
of  leadership  yourself. 

But  most  of  all,  you  must  have  faith  in  men  and  women, 
boys  and  girls — and  not  only  faith  in  them  but  genuine  love 
for  them.     It  is  a  great  saying  of  Tolstoi's : 

"We  think  there  are  circumstances  when  we  may  deal  with  human 
beings  without  love,  and  there  are  no  such  circumstaiices ;  you  may 
make  bricks,  cut  down  trees,  or  hammer  iron  without  love,  but  you  can- 
not deal  with  men  without  it." 

And  one  of  the  greatest  leaders  of  men  that  this  old  world 
has  ever  known  uttered  one  of  his  profoundest  thoughts  when 
he  said  that  a  man  may  speak  with  the  tongues  of  men  and 
angels,  and  have  all  knowledge,  and  all  faith,  and  all  philan- 


10  now    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

thropy,  and  yet  fail  as  a  leader  and  a  man,  if  he  is  without 
love  for  his  fellows. 

And  now  by  way  of  a  practical  application  of  all  the  fore- 
going let  me  suggest  ten  practical  ways  for  starting  co- 
operation in  your  neighborhood,  indicating  at  the  same 
time  portions  of  this  book  in  which  I  have  set  forth  the 
experiences  of  other  groups  of  farmers  on  each  particular 
point, 

/.  Are  you  trying  to  get  your  neighbors  to  buy  their  fer- 
tilizers, feedstuffs,  etc.,  co-operatively f 

This  is  about  the  simplest  of  all  forms  of  co-operation — 
"the  A  B  C  of  co-operation,"  as  the  Irish  say — but  the 
economies  so  effected  have  often  been  eye  openers  to  farm- 
ers who  have  previously  sat  in  darkness.  Even  if  you  have 
no  local  farmers'  club,  you  can  still  get  your  neighbors  to 
join  with  you  and  make  a  bulk  order  at  considerable  saving 
to  all  concerned.  But  if  you  have  a  local  organization  you 
can  work  more  easily  and  effectively. 

On  this  and  allied  subjects  read  Chapter  III  on  "Co- 
operative Buying."  Read  also  the  experiences  of  Minne- 
sota co-operative  stores  in  Chapter  VIII,  an  Irish  co-op- 
erative purchasing  society  in  Chapter  XX,  what  French 
farmers  have  done  as  described  in  Chapter  XXII,  and  the 
interesting  experiences  of  Danish  farmers  as  told  in  Chapter 
XXVII. 

2.  Are  you  trying  to  get  your  neighbors  to  join  with  you 
in  buying  and  using  improved  farm  machinery f 

There  is  hardly  a  farmer  in  America  but  that  should  be 
practicing  this  form  of  co-operation.  Consider,  for  example, 
how  many  hundreds  of  thousands  of  farmers  have  plowed 
around  stumps  summer  after  summer  their  whole  lives 
through,  simply  because  each  one  did  not  feel  able  to  buy 
a  stump  puller — when  by  joining  together  all  could  have 


INTRODUCTION  11 

cleared  their  land  of  stumps  at  a  minimum  of  expense  and 
without  one  inconveniencing  the  other.  Check  over  the 
following  list  of  just  a  few  machines  that  might  be  owned 
in  common  and  see  if  you  cannot  pick  out  certain  neighbors 
who  would  "go  in  with  you"  in  buying  and  using  some  of 
them  to  advantage : 


1. 

Stump  puller. 

14. 

Stalk  cutter. 

2. 

Manure  spreader. 

15. 

Grain  drill. 

3. 

Corn  shredder. 

16. 

Mower. 

4. 

Corn  harvester. 

17. 

Peanut  picker. 

5. 

Fanning  mill. 

18. 

Clover  huller. 

6. 

Pea  huller. 

19. 

Grain  thresher. 

7. 

Spraying  outfit 

20. 

Meat  chopper. 

8. 

Canning  outfit. 

21. 

Horse  clipper. 

9. 

Cowpea  thresher. 

22. 

Cement  tile  machine 

10. 

Traction  plow. 

23. 

Road  drag. 

11. 

Harvester  and  binder. 

24. 

Farm  level. 

12. 

Lime  and  fertilizer  distributor. 

25. 

Cane  mill. 

13. 

Potato  digger. 

26. 

Hay  press. 

It  is  an  unprogressive  farmer  who  doesn't  own  some  of 
these  in  co-operation  with  his  neighbors.  Even  if  he  is  a 
rich  plantation  owner,  he  should  nevertheless  pursue  this 
policy  as  a  matter  of  encouragement  and  help  to  his  less 
prosperous  neighbors  who  may  thus  get  help  they  would 
otherwise  lack. 

On  this  point  read  the  report  of  what  some  American 
farmers'  clubs  have  done  as  told  in  Chapter  VI,  an  Irish 
experience  in  Chapter  XX,  some  successful  French  plans  in 
Chapter  XXII,  and  the  record  of  co-operation  among  Den- 
mark's one-horse  farmers  in  Chapter  XXIII. 

J.  Are  you  working  to  secure  any  organisation  of  your 
neighbors  for  marketing  staple  cropsf 

In  a  country  In  which  the  power  of  organization  has  been 
so  convincingly  demonstrated,  it  would  seem  to  be  a  strange 
question  to  ask  a  farmer,  "In  the  marketing  of  your  crops 
are  you  as  a  lone  individual  (probably  poorly  informed  at 
best),  going  up  single-handed  against  all  the  organized 


12  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

forces,  powerful,  wealthy  and  well-informed,  now  ready  to 
take  advantage  of  you?"  Have  not  the  farmers'  grain 
elevators  proved  that  every  grain  farmer  should  have  part 
in  this  movement?  Have  not  co-operative  cotton  and  to- 
bacco warehousing  and  marketing  (even  though  only  in 
their  infancy)  proved  that  by  selling  together  cotton  grow- 
ers and  tobacco  growers  can  get  better  prices  for  these 
staple  crops?  Are  not  the  citrus  fruit  growers'  association 
and  truck  growers'  organizations  in  various  parts  of  the 
country  living  examples  of  the  fact  that  "in  union  there  is 
strength"?  Has  not  co-operative  live  stock  shipping  brought 
new  profits  to  corn  belt  farmers? 

Unless  you  are  in  some  crop  marketing  organization,  Mr. 
Reader,  you  are  sleeping  on  your  opportunities.  Resolve 
now  that  your  neighborhood  will  not  market  this  year's 
crop  without  some  form  of  co-operative  effort. 

And  here  the  reader  may  profitably  consult  the  expe- 
riences of  numerous  farmers'  societies  recorded  in  this 
volume — the  record  of  the  citrus  fruit  growers  of  Florida 
and  California  as  told  in  Chapter  XV,  the  magnificent  show- 
ing of  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  Produce  Exchange, 
Chapter  XHI ;  experiences  in  marketing  wheat,  Chapter 
IX;  cotton  and  cottonseed  marketing  experiences  as  told 
in  Chapters  VI,  XH  and  XVI ;  the  victory  co-operation 
brought  Wisconsin  berry  growers,  .Chapter  X,  etc. 

4.  Have  you  stock  in  any  enterprise  for  the  secondary 
handling  of  your  products^ 

As  we  are  emphasizing  in  Chapter  I,  our  farmers  should 
not  only  make  the  profits  on  the  production  of  their  raw 
material,  but  should  co-operatively  own  and  manage  all  the 
enterprises  for  putting  this  raw  material  into  what  we  may 
call  a  secondary  form.  The  quostion  is,  then,  whether  you 
have  stock  in  any— 

1.  Grain  mill?  4.  Or  packinghouse? 

2.  Cotton  mill?  5.  Or  tobacco  prizery? 

3.  Or  creamery?  6.  Or  cottonseed  oil  mill? 


INTRODUCTION  13 

In  other  words,  the  author  contends  that  what  we  may- 
call  "agricultural  manufacturing"  should  be  carried  on  in 
enterprises  co-operatively  owned  by  farmers,  the  profits 
being  paid  out  in  the  form  of  patronage  dividends  to  the 
persons  who  furnish  these  profits. 

For  information  on  such  enterprises  in  this  country  and 
abroad — the  creamery  being  unfortunately,  however,  the 
one  form  of  "agricultural  manufacturing"  in  which  co- 
operation has  made  conspicuous  progress — consult  Chap- 
ters VII,  XVI,  XVIII,  XXIV  and  XXV. 

5,  Have  you  tried  to  organise  your  neighbors  for  co-op- 
erative marketing  of  country  produce  and  of  live  stock? 

The  old  plan  (or  no  plan)  whereby  one  farmer  went  to 
town  with  two  dozen  eggs,  another  with  four  or  five 
chickens,  another  with  a  ham,  and  another  with  a  peck  of 
apples,  must  give  way  to  some  profitable  co-operative  mar- 
keting method  in  each  neighborhood. 

Read  in  Chapter  VI  the  story  of  one  co-operative  produce 
marketing  association  in  which  the  writer  is  a  stockholder. 
For  reports  of  live  stock  shipping  associations  see  Chapter 
XI. 

6.  Have  you  joined  with  your  neighbors  in  purchasing  any 
pure-bred  live  stock? 

The  use  of  scrub  sires  has  been  a  bane  of  American  agri- 
culture. We  cannot  expect  proper  interest  in  stock  raising 
until  our  farmers  have  animals  in  which  they  can  take  pride 
and  which  have  been  bred  for  profit  making  along  certain 
definite  lines.  Nor  can  we  ever  have  this  if  each  individual 
farmer  must  purchase  worthy  sires  for  his  own  herds  and 
flocks. 

Just  as  we  are  safe  in  saying,  therefore,  that  the  joint 
ownership  of  farm  machinery  is  one  form  of  co-operation 
in  which  every  farmer  should  participate,  so  we  say  that 


14  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE  PROFITS 

every  farmer  should  have  an  interest  in  some  royal  blooded 
stallion,  bull,  boar  or  ram  that  he  will  feel  proud  to  name 
as  the  sire  of  his  colts,  calves,  pigs  or  lambs.  Talk  this 
matter  over  with  your  neighbors  as  one  of  the  surest  means 
of  starting  co-operation. 

7.  Are  you  interested  in  or  trying  to  encourage  any  mutual 
insurance  association? 

Every  farmer  should  belong  to  some  co-operative  fire 
insurance  association  (they  exist  almost  all  over  the  coun- 
try, and  if  you  haven't  a  branch  in  your  county,  it  should 
be  easy  to  organize  one),  and  we  should  also  have  associa- 
tions for  mutual  accident  insurance,  such  as  have  proved 
such  a  success  among  French  farmers. 

Read  the  reports  of  successful  farmers'  insurance  asso- 
ciations in  America  as  given  in  Chapter  XVII,  and  French 
experiences  as  given  in  Chapter  XXII. 

8.  Arc  you  a  member  of  or  trying  to  organise  any  credit 
union  or  other  rural  credit  association? 

No  matter  what  sort  of  system  for  lending  money  on 
land  our  State  or  National  government  may  devise,  we 
must  have  some  societies  through  which  farmers  may  pool 
their  savings  and  lend  them  out  to  one  another  on  proper 
security.  Because  not  all  features  of  the  Raiffeisen  credit 
organization  may  suit  America  is  no  reason  for  saying 
that  none  of  their  features  will.  Every  farmer  should  be 
a  member  of  some  form  of  local  credit  union  or  rural  build- 
ing and  loan  association. 

Read  the  simple  story  of  the  Irish  rural  credit  societies 
in  Chapter  XIX,  and  see  if  there  is  really  any  reason  why 
some  such  plan  could  not  be  inaugurated  in  your  neighbor- 
hood. Or  if  some  other  plan  seems  necessary,  note  in 
Chapter  XIV  that  Catawba  farmers  have  organized  a  rural 
building  and  loan  association  and  are  making  a  success  of  it. 

p.  Are  you  a  member  of  a  co-operative  telephone  com- 
pany? 


INTRODUCTION  15 

Farmers  should  co-operate  not  only  in  matters  which 
insure  financial  profit,  but  in  everything  that  makes  for 
the  improvement  of  country  life.  The  telephone  is  not 
only  profitable  financially  in  that  it  will  convey  all  kinds  of 
business  messages  that  a  man  and  a  horse  would  otherwise 
have  to  carry,  but  it  enriches  life  for  all  the  members  of 
the  family.  If  every  farmer  in  a  neighborhood  will  do  his 
part,  the  cost  per  capita  of  a  co-operative  line  will  be  small 
indeed. 

10.  Are  you  co-operating  to  get  for  your  family  and  your 
neighbors  the  higher  things  of  existence? 

Are  you  a  member  of  a  farmers'  club  or  local  union  or 
grange?  Is  your  boy  in  the  corn  club  work  and  your  girl 
in  the  girls'  canning  club  movement?  Is  your  wife  one  of 
the  United  Farm  Women?  Are  you  co-operating  with 
your  neighbors  educationally  by  supporting  local  taxation 
for  schools?  Are  you  always  ready  to  do  your  part  when 
the  neighbors  plan  a  Sunday  school  picnic  or  a  Fourth  of 
July  celebration  or  a  baseball  team  or  a  "big  day"  at  the 
neighborhood  school?  And  finally,  are  you  co-operating 
with  your  neighbors  in  the  settlement  of  disputes  by  arbi- 
tration— co-operation  which  eliminates  the  terrific  expense 
of  unnecessary  middlemen-lawyers? 

This  tenth  item  really  presents  an  illustration  of  "the  last 
shall  be  first  and  the  first  shall  be  last,"  for  the  very  first 
step  in  business  co-operation  must  frequently  be  the  or- 
ganization of  farmers  along  social  lines.  It  is  equally  true, 
however,  that  without  some  successful  business  feature 
about  ninety-nine  farmers'  clubs  out  of  a  hundred  fail. 
The  thing  to  do  is  to  try  to  get  the  organization  and  then 
give  it  something  to  do — or  better  still,  have  something 
definite  for  it  to  do  from  the  very  beginning. 

In  the  matter  of  suggestions  for  making  a  farmers'  club 
a  success,  read  Chapter  II,  noting  the  manner  of  organiza- 
tion,   needed    committees,    plans    for    a    rural    census    or 


16  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

survey,  etc. ;  read  Chapter  VI  setting  forth  some  practical 
business  activities  of  farmers'  clubs,  and  note  the  activities 
of  some  women's  organizations  in  Chapters  IX  and  XIV. 

Upon  general  matters  it  only  remains  for  me  to  say  that 
in  Chapter  VII,  and  in  the  Appendix,  I  have  attempted  to 
give  needed  help  about  the  method  of  organizing  co-opera- 
tive enterprises,  v^^hat  manner  of  by-law^s  should  be  adopted, 
etc. ;  in  various  chapters  throughout  the  book  I  have  em- 
phasized the  importance  of  high-quality  products;  in 
Chapter  XXIV  and  others  I  have  discussed  briefly  the  neces- 
sity for  having  legal,  binding  contracts  and  proper  auditing 
of  the  books;  and  in  Chapters  XXI,  XXIII,  XXVI  and 
XXVII  I  have  brought  out  the  fact  that  education  and 
home  ownership  form  the  only  foundation  for  successful 
co-operation  or  a  satisfying  rural  life.  Because  tenancy 
and  ignorance  exist  in  your  neighborhood  is  not  a  reason 
for  shirking  the  battle,  however,  but  only  for  making  more 
determined  effort  not  only  to  get  co-operation,  but  to  pro- 
mote education  and  home  ownership.  I  have  also  called 
attention,  though  not  so  emphatically  as  I  ought,  to  the 
importance  of  avoiding  the  credit  system  which  has 
wrecked  probably  ten  thousand  farmers'  societies,  and  I 
would  reiterate  that  there  is  no  safety  outside  the  strictly 
cash  basis  of  operations.  I  would  also  urge  Southern  read- 
ers interested  in  co-operation  to  consider  the  importance 
of  developing  homogeneous  communities,  from  the  racial 
standpoint.  We  simply  cannot  adequately  develop  rural 
co-operation  or  rural  community  life  where  a  population, 
sparse  at  best,  is  divided  between  two  races  who  are  utterly 
separate  socially.  Consequently  where  negroes  cease  to 
become  hired  laborers  or  renters  and  become  independent 
landowners  working  for  themselves,  they  should  buy  land 
apart  from  those  communities  where  white  people  wish  to 
develop  a  robust  community  life  with  a  homogeneous  white 
population.  In  two  school  districts,  each  with  fifty  negro 
landowners  and  fifty  white  landowners  sandwiched  to- 
gether, neither  schools  nor  churches  nor  social  life  can  be 


INTRODUCTION  17. 

half  as  good  for  either  race  as  if  the  hundred  families  of 
each  race  were  grouped  together. 

May  I  not  in  conclusion  again  urge  the  reader  to  set  out 
to  make  himself  a  leader  in  rebuilding  his  neighborhood, 
finding  for  himself  the  inner  joy  and  happiness  that  comes 
only  through  service  to  one's  fellows  and  to  some  high 
ideal? 

"Oh,  it  is  great  and  there  is  no  other  greatness/*  says 
Carlyle,  somewhere,  "to  make  some  nook  of  God's  creation 
more  fruitful,  better,  more  worthy  of  God,"  and  it  is  in  the 
quest  of  this  form  of  greatness  that  one  is  surest  to  find 
what  President  Eliot  has  happily  called  "the  durable  satis- 
factions of  life."  To  the  man  who  has  an  ideal  of  a  richer 
and  fuller  life  for  his  community  and  who  unselfishly  sets 
to  work  to  bring  about  this  ideal,  the  glorious  reward  is 
usually  seen  with  the  material  eye  long  before  age  has 
dimmed  its  vision.  But  to  the  triumphant  spirit  of  every 
man  who  seeks  to  hasten  "the  good  day  coming,"  it  is 
enough,  even  if  only  with  the  eye  of  faith,  "he  shall  see  the 
travail  of  his  soul  and  shall  be  satisfied,"  and  dying 

"Join  the  choir  invisible  , 

Of  those  immortal  dead  who  live  again 
In  minds  made  better  by  their  presence    .    .    . 
Whose  music  is  the  gladness  of  the  world." 

To  such  tasks,  to  such  high  spiritual  adventures,  are  the 
leaders  of  rural  America  now  called.  In  fact,  the  by- 
products of  co-operation — comradeship,  fellowship,  that 
new  attitude  toward  life  which  has  made  Denmark  "a  little 
land  full  of  happy  people" — these  are  so  much  more  im- 
portant than  even  the  striking  material  rewards,  that  I 
have  hesitated  to  call  this  book  "How  Farmers  Co-operate 
and  Double  Profits."  For,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  important  as  are 
the  dividends  in  cash,  the  dividends  in  brotherhood  are 
greater. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


PLEASE  USE  THE  INDEX.— The  chapter  headings  in  this  book 
indicate  very  incompletely  at  best  the  range  of  subjects  covered.  The 
reader  in  quest  of  information  on  any  particular  point  is  therefore 
urged  on  all  occasions  to  consult  the  Index,  beginning  on  page  239. 
This  Index  not  only  indicates  with  greater  precision  where  to  find  just 
the  information  wished,  but  frequently  enables  the  reader  to  compare 
experiences  of  a  considerable  number  of  co-operative  groups.  The 
ideal  of  the  author,  in  fact,  has  been  to  inspire  the  general  reader  with 
interest  and  enthusiasm  for  co-operation  by  means  of  genuine  "human 
interest"  stories  of  co-operation  experience,  and  also  furnish,  with  the 
added  help  of  the  Index,  a  practical  guide  book  for  those  engaged  in 
organizing  co-operative  enterprises. 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  I 
The  Farmer  Must  Take  Complete  Control  of  His  Business 21 

CHAPTER  H 
First  of  All  a  Good  Local  Farmers'  Club :  How  to  Make  It  a  Success    29 

CHAPTER  HI 

Co-operative  Buying  Is  Good;   Co-operative  Merchandising  May  or 
or  May  Not  Be 37 

CHAPTER  IV 
Rural  Credits  and  Co-operation 48 

CHAPTER  V 
Why  I  Believe  in  the  Farmers'  Union,  Grange,  etc 56 

CHAPTER  VI 

Some  Farmers'  Clubs  I  Have  Known :  Examples  of  Neighborhood 
Co-operation    63 

CHAPTER  VII 
How  to  Organize  a  Co-operative  Society :  Some  Fundamental  Prin- 
ciples     . ..... 70 

18 


TABLE  OF   CONTENTS  19 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  VIII 

How  Co-operation  Remade  a  Minnesota  Neighborhood :  A  Properly 
Organized  Rural  Community 75 

CHArTER  IX 
Why  Can't  You  Have  a  Neighborhood  Like  Svea? 83 

CHAPTER  X 

How  Wisconsin  Berry  Growers  Met  an  Ugly  Situation :  Successful 
Produce  Marketing 90 

CHAPTER  XI 

More   Co-operation    Stories    from   the   Northwest:     Co-operative 
Laundry  Work,  Live  Stock  Shipping,  Cheese  Making,  etc 95 

CHAPTER  XII 
Co-operation  to  Get  Better  Cotton  Prices 100 

CHAPTER  XIII 
A  $5,000,000  Truck  Marketing  Association  in  Virginia 113 

CHAPTER  XIV 
A  North  Carolina  County  Co-operation  Has  Waked  Up :  Cream- 
eries, Egg  Collecting,  Potato  Marketing,  Credit  Societies,  etc.  123 

CHAPTER  XV 
What  Florida  and  California  Citrus  Fruit  Organizations  Have  Done  130 

CHAPTER  XVI 
An  Arkansas  Cotton  Marketing  Association 137 

CHAPTER  XVII 

Every  Farmer  Should  Join  a  Mutual  Insurance  Company:  What 
Some  Companies  Are  Doing 143 

CHAPTER  XVIII 
Making  Farmers  into  Business  Men:    How  Co-operation  Has  Re- 
made Rural  Ireland  147 

CHAPTER  XIX 
.Two  Irish  Rural  Credit  Societies  and  How  Thev  Work 155 


20  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

PAGE 

CHAPTER  XX 

The  Large   Outlook  of   Irish   Agricultural   Leaders:    The  Prob- 
lems of  Rural  Co-cperation 164 

CHAPTER  XXI 
Agricultural  Co-operation  in  England 171 

CHAPTER  XXII 
What  Co-operation  Has  Done  for  French  Farmers 178 

CHAPTER  XXIII 
Co-operation  Gives  Danish  Farmers  Three  Profits  Instead  of  One.  186 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

Cows   and   Co-operation   Have   Made   Denmark   Rich:     Business 
Methods  and  High  Quality  Products  as  Factors 194 

CHAPTER  XXV 
Averaging  $2  More  Per  Hog  Through  Co-operation:  How  Live 
Stock  Farmers  Benefit 201 

CHAPTER  XXVI 
"Folk  High  Schools"  Made  Danish  Co-operation  Possible 207 

CHAPTER  XXVII 
Seven   Secrets  of   Success  with   Danish   Co-operation:    The  Ex- 
perience of  Denmark  as  a  Lesson  for  America 213 

APPENDIX 

What  Sort  of  By-Laws  Shall  We  Have? 223 

Regulations  for  a  Co-operative  Store 233 

By-Laws  of  a  Farmers'  Club 235 

Parhamentary  Rules 237 


CHAPTER  I 

ff 

THE  FARMER  MUST  TAKE  COMPLETE  CONTROL 

OF  HIS  BUSINESS 

This  Is  the  Fundamental  Purpose  of  Rural  Co-operation — 

Profits  Must  Go  to  Patronage — Farmers  Must  Get  Profits 

Not  Only  from  Growing  Raw  Material  but  from  Grading 

It,  Converting  It  into  More  Finished  Forms,  and  from 

I !    Direct  Marketing. 

BUSINESS  co-operation  among  farmers — what  are 
the  fundamental  purposes  and  principles  of  this 
movement  of  which  we  now  hear  so  much?  This, 
it  seems  to  us,  is  the  most  pertinent  consideration 
for  us  in  the  very  beginning  of  this  volume. 

The  answer  is,  of  course,  that  the  object  of  rural  co-op- 
eration is  to  bring  to  the  farmer  not  only  the  profits  due 
him  as  a  laborer,  but  also  profits  which  he  may  win  as  a 
business  man — by  grading,  developing  and  marketing  the 
products  he  has  first  made  as  a  laborer.  And  the  object  is 
not  only  to  secure  these  extra  profits  for  the  farmers  as  a 
class,  but  to  secure  their  equitable  distribution  among  in- 
dividual farmers  by  dividing  profits  on  the  basis  of  patron- 
age instead  of  on  the  basis  of  capital. 

For  centuries  we  have  had  an  industrial  system  in  which 
money  rules  men.  The  dollar,  "the  almighty  dollar,"  as 
it  has  come  to  be  known,  is  above  the  man.  Money  hires 
men.  The  lowest  possible  wages  are  paid  the  workingmen 
who  turn  out  the  products  of  the  various  businesses,  the 
highest  possible  prices  are  charged  the  consuming  public 
who  buy  these  products,  and  then  all  the  profits  realized 
between  these  minimum  and  maximum  figures  go  to  the 
moneyed  stockholders  in  proportion  to  their  money.     No 

21 


22  HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

matter  how  enormous  these  profits  are,  the  men  whose 
sweat  and  labor  have  wrought  out  the  product  share  none 
of  the  benefits,  nor  does  the  consuming  public  receive  one 
cent  of  rebate. 

The  basic  principle  of  co-operation,  on  the  other  hand, 
is  that  men  shall  hire  money  instead  of  having  money  hire 
men,  and  that  after  paying  money  its  legitimate  hire  (a 
reasonable  rate  of  interest),  all  the  remaining  profits  shall 
go  to  the  people  who  furnish  patronage. 

Now,  there  are  a  thousand  patrons  of  a  business  for  every 
one  stockholder  in  it.  Consequently,  when  profits  go  to 
patrons  under  the  co-operation  principle  wealth  is  diffused 
among  many  people ;  when  profits  go  to  stockholders  under 
the  corporation  principle  wealth  is  concentrated  into  a  few 
hands — and  already  54.2  of  our  American  families  do  not 
even  own  the  roof  that  shelters  them,  and  not  one  man  in 
three  lives  in  a  home  to  which  neither  landlord  nor  mort- 
gagee may  lay  claim. 

A  corporation  is  an  assemblage  of  dollars  for  the  purpose 
of  hiring  men  to  secure  profits  for  the  dollars.  Co-opera- 
tion is  the  assemblage  of  men  for  the  purpose  of  hiring 
dollars  to  save  profits  to  the  men.  And  by  this  plan  co- 
operation aims  to  avoid  both  the  Scylla  of  capitalism  and 
the  Charybdis  of  socialism.  It  will  not  have  the  profits 
of  labor  absorbed  by  fashionable  idlers  under  the  form  of 
plutocracy,  nor  by  a  different  class  of  idlers  under  the  form 
of  communism.  It  is  for  the  men  who  work — the  only  sort 
of  men  worth  saving,  the  only  sort  of  men  society  should 
seek  to  serve. 

In  addition  to  the  principle  of  paying  dividends  on  patron- 
age, there  are,  of  course,  certain  other  well-established  prin- 
ciples of  successful  co-operation,  the  main  ones  being  sum- 
marized under  twelve  brief  heads  in  our  chapter  on  "How 
to  Organize  a  Co-operative  Society." 

So  much  for  the  principles  of  business  co-operation. 
Now  let  us  see  what  our  forward-looking  leaders  of  rural 


FARMER  MUST  TAKE  COMPLETE  CONTROL  OF  HIS  BUSINESS  23 

progress  hope  to  win  for  the  farmer  by  applying  these  prin- 
ciples in  agriculture. 

Agricultural  co-operation  on  the  whole,  then,  let  me  say, 
means  simply  that  the  farmer  must  take  control  of  all 
phases  of  his  own  business — the  business  of  growing  and 
delivering  to  the  world  its  food  and  the  raw  material  for 
its  clothing. 

Heretofore  the  farmer  too  often  has  been  only  a  hireling 
in  his  own  house.  He  has  been  the  laborer  who  did  the 
hard  work  but  received  only  such  profits  as  were  left  him  by 
his  industrial  masters — these  masters  being  the  men  from 
whom  he  bought  his  supplies;  the  men  who  converted  his 
products  into  secondary  form;  the  men  who  marketed  his 
products ;  and  the  men  who  lent  him  money  to  carry  on  his 
business  or  to  buy  food  from  other  farmers  while  he  worked. 

I  hate  demagoguery,  and  I  would  do  nothing  to  stir  up 
class  feeling;  but  the  big  facts  in  this  matter  must  not  be 
blinked,  and  it  will  require  only  a  little  thought  to  show 
that  the  farmer  has  surrendered  to  other  interests  all  the 
business  side  of  agriculture  apart  from  production,  and  that 
all  these  other  interests  have  prospered  in  greater  degree 
than  has  the  farmer,  who  is  the  creator  of  all  the  basic 
wealth. 

The  merchant  who  has  sold  the  farmer  his  supplies ;  the 
grain  buyers  and  cotton  buyers  and  tobacco  buyers  and  pea- 
nut buyers  who  have  marketed  his  product ;  the  millers  and 
packers  and  ginners  and  cottonseed  oil  men  who  have  con- 
verted his  products  into  more  finished  forms;  the  money- 
lenders and  the  time-merchants  who  have  furnished  him 
credit — all  these  have  taken  their  tolls,  and  in  nearly  every 
instance  their  profits  have  been  larger  than  those  made  by 
the  farmer  himself.  It  has  been  asserted  that  in  some  lines 
the  farmer  receives  only  thirty-five  cents  of  the  dollar  which 
the  ultimate  consumer  pays  for  his  product. 

Now,  let  us  see  what  are  the  lines  of  co-operation  that  we 
must  develop  if  the  farmer  is  really  to  take  control  of  these 


24  HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

profit-absorbing  phases  of  his  own  business,  and  get  his 
proper  share  of  the  final  consumer's  dollar.  To  effect  this 
result  it  seems  to  me  that  our  farmers  everywhere  must 
definitely  resolve  upon  five  general  branches  of  rural  co- 
operation : 

(i)  Co-operation  in  buying  supplies  for  making  farm 
products. 

(2)  Co-operation  in  raising  farm  products. 

(3)  Co-operation  in  finishing  farm  products. 

(4)  Co-operation  in  standardizing  and  marketing  farm 

products. 

(5)  Co-operation  in  securing  capital  for  making  and  mar- 
keting farm  products,  and  in  all  necessary  insurance. 

Several  of  these  five  subjects  have  already  been  rather 
abundantly  discussed.  Farmers  are  already  pretty  fully 
converted  to  the  idea  of  buying  their  supplies — fertilizers, 
feedstuffs,  etc. — on  the  co-operative  plan.  Farmers  also 
are  rapidly  learning  the  wisdom  of  co-operation  in  raising 
farm  products — co-operation  in  owning  and  operating  wheat 
threshers,  stump  pullers,  corn  harvesters,  traction  plows, 
corn  shredders,  wheat  drills  and  other  labor-saving  and 
profit-making  machinery,  and  co-operation  in  getting  better 

breeding  sires. 

They  have  been  decidedly  slower,  however,  in  realizing 
that  it  is  part  of  the  business  of  farming  to  co-operate  in 
finishing  farm  products — putting  them  into  secondary  form 
— as  it  is  a  purpose  of  this  book  to  urge.  And  by  convert- 
ing farm  products  into  more  finished  forms,  I  mean  such 
work  as  that  of  cotton  gins  for  separating  the  farmer's 
seed  cotton  into  lint  and  seed,  cottonseed  oil  mills  for  con- 
verting the  cottonseed  into  meal  and  oil  and  hulls;  grain 
mills  for  converting  the  farmer's  grain  into  flour  and  bran 
and  meal ;  creameries  for  converting  his  milk  into  butter  and 
cheese;  canneries  for  converting  fruit  and  vegetables  into 
canned  goods ;  and  packing  houses  for  converting  his  hogs  and 
cattle  into  properly  cured  pork  and  beef  products.  All 
these  enterprises  are  distinctly  a  part  of  the  farmer's  busi- 


FARMER  MUST  TAKE  COMPLETE  CONTROL  OF  HIS  BUSINESS   25 

ness,  and  wherever  business  conditions  make  them  profit- 
able they  should  be  conducted  by  him  on  a  strictly  co- 
operative basis. 

In  other  words,  I  maintain  that  it  is  the  farmer's  duty 
to  give  the  world  its  food  and  the  raw  material  for  its  cloth- 
ing, and  that  he  should  conduct  and  receive  profits  from  all 
the  business  operations  of  delivering  the  food  to  the  con- 
sumers and  the  lint  cotton  and  the  wool  to  the  factories. 
The  principle  has  its  bounds,  of  course,  but  I  maintain,  for 
example,  that  it  is  as  much  the  farmer's  business  to  grind 
the  corn  as  to  shell  it,  and  as  much  his  business  to  gin  the 
cotton  as  to  pick  it.  It  is  because  the  farmer  has  hereto- 
fore lost  the  profits  on  all  such  operations  and  on  all  the 
business  of  handling  his  crops  that  he  is  poor.  As  Prof. 
E.  C.  Branson  has  so  well  said : 

"The  farmer's  wealth-producing  power  is  enormous ;  his  wealth- 
holding  power  is  feeble.  The  retention  of  wealth  is  everywhere  our 
greatest  problem;    not  merely  the  production  of  wealth." 

Think  of  our  annual  billion-dollar  cotton  crop,  and  then 
of  how  few  millions  will  be  left  to  our  farmers  as  profits 
after  the  farmer  satisfies  all  the  agencies  that  now  take 
toll  from  his  wealth  before  he  gets  "the  leavings." 

Twenty  years  ago,  as  we  shall  see  later  on  in  this  volume, 
the  dairy  farmers  of  Ireland  and  Denmark  were  doing 
exactly  as  our  American  farmers  are  doing  today.  They 
were  simply  following  the  old  system  of  "every  man  for 
himself"  and  letting  the  bulk  of  their  profits  slip  through 
their  fingers — part  going  to  the  merchant  who  sold  them 
feedstufifs,  part  to  the  capitalists  who  owned  the  creamery 
and  bought  their  milk  and  butter,  part  to  the  middleman 
who  marketed  the  finished  products  for  them,  and  part  (or 
the  rest)  to  the  money  lender  or  "gombeen-man"  (time  mer- 
chant) who  made  them  advances. 

Today,  however,  these  farmers  have  made  themselves 
independent  by  taking  complete  control  of  their  business 


26  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

just  as  I  am  saying  the  American  farmer  must  take  complete 
control  of  his  business. 

They  have  co-operative  purchasing  societies  for  buying 
their  feedstuffs  together  and  save  a  profit  here.  They  have 
co-operative  creameries  for  converting  their  milk  into 
butter  and  cheese  and  save  a  profit  here.  They  have  co- 
operative societies  in  marketing  direct  to  English  and 
German  markets  and  save  a  profit  here.  And  they  have 
co-operative  credit  societies  and  save  a  profit  here. 

In  other  vi^ords,  the  co-operative  Irish  and  Danish  farm- 
ers have  taken  complete  control  of  their  business  from  start 
to  finish,  just  as  our  American  farmers  must  do.  No  won- 
der Hans  Hansen,  a  Danish  farmer  who  had  formerly  cul- 
tivated a  i6o-acre  farm  in  America,  told  me  at  his  home  in 
Denmark  that,  thanks  to  this  fuller  degree  of  co-operation 
there,  he  was  doing  about  as  well  with  thirteen  acres  there 
as  he  did  with  i6o  in  America.  Certainly  if  these  Irish  and 
Danish  farmers  were  in  our  shoes,  they  would  soon  have 
co-operatively  owned  cotton  gins,  cottonseed  oil  mills,  cot- 
ton and  tobacco  warehouses,  packing  houses,  grain  eleva- 
tors, grain  mills,  etc.,  etc.  (not  by  starting  new  enterprises 
in  communities  already  fully  supplied,  but  by  buying  out 
plants  already  running  or  else  establishing  new  ones  in 
communities  not  properly  supplied  at  present),  and  they 
would  buy  fertilizers  together  direct  from  the  factory; 
they  would  co-operate  for  economical  production ;  they 
would  standardize  grades  and  market  their  cotton  co-op- 
eratively; and  they  would  provide  some  form  of  co-opera- 
tive rural  credits. 

I  repeat  that  I  am  not  advising  farmers  to  start  new 
co-operative  gins  or  mills  or  warehouses  where  there  are 
plenty  of  these  privately  owned.  But  they  may  well  buy 
out  an  established  plant  in  such  cases  and  put  it  on  the 
co-operative  or  "patronage-dividends"  basis,  or  they  may 
establish  such  new  co-operative  enterprises  outright  where 
the  business  justifies  it. 

The  enormous  losses  in  grading  and  marketing  cotton 


FARMER  MUST  TAKE  COMPLETE  CONTROL  OF  HIS  BUSINESS   27 

under  present  conditions  offer  a  fine  illustration  of  what 
our  farmers  lose  by  not  taking  charge  of  the  marketing  end 
of  their  business.  We  should  both  establish  co-operative 
selling  agencies  and  establish  a  definite  and  officially  recog- 
nized standard  of  grades.  Organized  or  co-operative  mar- 
keting is  the  only  plan  whereby  the  farmer  can  get  the 
benefit  of  proper  grading  of  his  products — 

(i)  Because  the  organization  can  employ  an  expert  grader, 
whereas  the  individual  farmer  cannot  become  an  expert  in 
this  work ;  and — 

(2)  Because  an  association  of  farmers  can  guarantee 
grades  and  insure  the  acceptance  of  their  grading  work  by 
the  commercial  world  as  an  individual  farmer  cannot. 

The  fifth  and  last  form  of  co-operation  to  which  farmers 
must  give  attention  is  the  rural  credit  society,  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  group  of  farmers  in  each  community  for  the  pur- 
pose of  obtaining  and  lending  money  to  their  members  at 
low  rates  of  interest  for  productive  purposes.  It  is  to  our 
everlasting  discredit  that  we  have  yet  done  nothing  in  this 
respect,  for  not  only  have  these  organizations  pulled 
thousands  and  thousands  of  Irish  farmers  and  Danish 
farmers  and  German  farmers  out  of  the  mire  of 
poverty,  but  when  I  was  in  Japan  I  found  that  even  these 
so-called  "heathen"  farmers  had  for  years  been  improving 
their  opportunities  in  this  respect ;  and  when  I  went  down 
into  India  I  found  that  even  "the  poor,  benighted  Hindus" 
had  realized  the  advantages  of  co-operation  in  rural  credit 
and  that  the  British  government  was  actively  assisting 
the  heathen  worshipers  of  idols  over  there  in  this  advanced 
step  which  we  in  America  have  not  yet  taken. 

The  conclusion  of  the  whole  matter  is  simply  that  the 
twentieth  century  farmer  is  yet  going  to  become  master  in 
his  own  house,  is  yet  going  to  take  charge  of  the  whole 
business  of  agriculture,  and  will  absorb  all  the  profits  of 
the  processes  of  supplying  the  world  with  food  and  with 
raw  material  for  its  clothing.  He  will  not  be  content  merely 
to  grow  the  raw  product  as  a  low-priced  muscular  laborer. 


28 


HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 


lii 


and  let  all  the  profits  of  handling  and  selling  the  product 
go  to  other  classes.  Instead,  the  farmer  is  to  be  both 
laborer  and  business  man.  He  is  to  get  one  profit  from 
growing  the  product ;  he  is  to  get  still  another  profit  from 
grading,  finishing  and  marketing  it.  Heretofore  he  has 
made  one  profit  by  working  alone,  as  an  individual  being; 
henceforth  he  will  make  another  profit  by  working  with 
others  as  a  social  being. 

There  must  be  co-operation  (i)  in  buying  supplies,  (2) 
in  crop  production,  (3)  in  crop  finishing,  (4)  in  crop  market- 
^"g"»  (5)  Ji^  rural  credits.  The  farmer  must  take  complete 
control  of  his  business. 


CHAPTER  11 

FIRST  OF  ALL,  A  GOOD  FARMERS'  CLUB 

Have  Regular  Programs  and  "Roll  Call  of  Opinions" — Eight 
Permanent  Committees  That  Should  Be  Ahvays  Active — 
Make  Community  Surveys  and  Have  Public  Meetings — 
How  to  Get  Outsiders  Interested. 

THE  very  first  thing  to  do  in  getting  business  co- 
operation started  in  your  community  is  to  get 
your  neighborhood  waked  up.  And  the  best  way 
to  get  it  waked  up  is  to  organize  a  farmers* 
club  and  a  club  of  farm  women.  Don't  organize  merely 
because  "all  other  classes  are  organized  and  farmers  ought 
to  be,"  but  organize  for  business — determined  to  do  some- 
thing. 

In  order  to  get  a  club  started,  the  leader  should  first  try 
to  interest  a  half  dozen  neighbors,  or  as  many  as  he  can, 
and  try  to  get  the  biggest  possible  crowd  in  starting.  Have 
a  speaker  or  organizer  from  a  distance  if  possible — not  a 
mere  exhorter,  but  a  man  who  will  give  practical  sugges- 
tions for  making  the  club  a  power  in  the  community.  We 
would  also  suggest  that  you  link  up  your  club  with  what- 
ever general  organization  the  farmers  of  your  State 
have.  Union,  Grange  or  Society  of  Equity,  as  the  case  may 
be.  In  some  states  there  is  nothing  but  the  Union,  in. 
others  nothing  but  the  Grange,  and  so  on. 

Then  having  brought  your  farmer  neighbors  or  your 
neighbor  women  together  into  the  organization,  the  next 
thing  to  do  is  to  make  your  meetings  interesting.  If  the 
secretary  simply  calls  the  roll,  reads  the  minutes  of  the  last 
meeting,  and  the  president  merely  puts  through  the  formal 
"Order  of  Business,"  your  club  will  soon  starve  to  death. 

28 


30  HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

The  writer  now  belongs  to  a  live,  active,  useful  local  union 
of  seventy-five  members,  and  we  are  confident  it  would  not 
be  half  so  strong  but  for  the  fact  that  for  two  years  past 
it  has  had  a  fixed  program  for  each  meeting,  with  one  or 
two  speakers  assigned  to  each  subject  and  given  sufficient 
advance  notice  to  enable  them  to  prepare  themselves 
properly. 

Another  excellent  idea  is  to  have  a  "Roll-call  of  Opin- 
ions" at  each  meeting.  After  the  regular  speakers  have 
expressed  themselves  on  the  subjects  assigned  for  discus- 
sion, call  on  each  member  present  to  give  his  opinion  within 
a  one,  two,  three  or  five-minute  time  limit,  as  the  circum- 
stances may  seem  to  require.  In  this  way  you  will  call  out 
the  quieter  and  less  active  members  and  frequently  develop 
qualities  of  leadership  in  them  which  might  otherwise  never 
come  to  life.  And  just  here  it  should  always  be  remem- 
bered that  the  sort  of  leaders  we  need  in  every  organization 
are  not  those  who  wish  to  magnify  their  own  importance 
and  demonstrate  their  own  superior  abilities,  but  men  with 
that  truer  sort  of  leadership  who  will  seek  out  and  develop 
all  the  force  and  power  in  other  men,  finding  more  pleasure 
in  developing  others  than  in  exhibiting  themselves. 

A  chief  object  of  your  organization  in  every  case  must  be 
to  make  your  neighborhood  not  a  collection  of  individuals, 
but  a  real  community — and  there  is  indeed  a  great  distinc- 
tion here.  As  Mr.  George  W.  Russell  of  the  Irish  Home- 
stead has  well  said,  we  have  had  until  now  virtually  no 
rural  "communities."  We  have  had  rural  sections  in  which 
individuals  live  here  and  there ;  but  we  have  not  had  neigh- 
borhoods of  people  bound  together  by  common  interests 
and  common  ideals — a  community  consciousness. 

The  truth  of  this  observation  must  be  only  too  plain  to 
all  thinking  people.  Consider  the  city  nearest  you,  how  its 
inhabitants  boast  of  its  growth  in  population,  in  postoffice 
receipts,  in  bank  deposits,  in  office  buildings!  How  they 
brag  about  its  factories,  industrial  plants,  big  stores;  its 
schools,  its  parks,  its  streets,  its  public  buildings — or  at 


FIRST   OF    ALL,    A   GOOD   FARMERS*    CLUB  31 

least  about  each  item  in  which  it  makes  a  better  showing  than 
its  nearest  rival  city!  There  are  slogans,  "Bigger,  Busier, 
Better  Beantown,"  "Watch  Jonesville  Grow,"  or  "Boom- 
town  Leads,- Others  Follow,"  etc.,  which  flaunt  themselves 
in  colored  signs  by  day,  flare  forth  in  electric  lights  by  night, 
or  strut  vaingloriously  on  your  city  friend's  lapel  as  you 
talk  with  him. 

What  we  need  now  is  to  develop  a  like  community  spirit 
in  our  country  districts.     Why  should  not  the  people  living 
in  a  rural  school  district  or  a  rural  township  boast  of  hav- 
ing the  best  roads  in  the  county,  or  the  best  school,  or  the 
best  school  library,  or  the  biggest  corn  club,  or  the  greatest 
number  of  painted  houses,  or  the  best  farmers'  club,  or  the 
most  houses  with  waterworks,  or  the  most  silos,  or  the  most 
registered  cattle,  or  the  most  attractive  social  life — which 
is  to  say,  the  most  neighborly  people?     Why  shouldn't  they 
1;  be  ready  to  come  together  in  a  public  meeting  to  take  action 
||  about  any  plan  affecting  the  people  of  the  neighborhood  ?   Why 
[|  shouldn't  the  local  farmers'  club  be  as  active  in  promoting 
every  idea  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  community  as  the  city 
chamber  of  commerce  is  in  promoting  every  idea  for  the 
upbuilding  of  the  city  in  which  it  is  located? 

We  believe,  in  fact,  that  this  should  be  a  main  purpose  of 
the  local  club,  and  to  this  end  we  would  suggest  that  the 
regular  program  be  sidetracked  at  any  tinre  in  order  to  have 
the  members  discuss  and  act  upon  any  matter  of  neighbor- 
hood betterment.  Furthermore,  we  would  suggest  that 
there  be  a  special  committee  to  look  after  each  leading  sub- 
ject affecting  the  life  of  the  community. 

At  a  recent  conference  in  which  the  writer  participated 
it  was  agreed  that  a  suitable  list  of  committees  for  such  a 
farmers'  club  would  be : 

(1)  Committee  on  Farm  Production. — Soil  fertility,  scientific  and 
progressive  crop  growing  and  stock  raising;  improved  tools  and  ma- 
chinery and  co-operation  in  their  use. 

(2)  Committee  on  Marketing  and  Credits. — 
(a)  Marketing  crops  and  produce. 


32  HOW    FARMERS    CO-OPERATE   AND    DOUBLE   PROFITS 

(&)  Co-operative  buying. 
(c)   Rural  credits,  and  thrift. 

(3)  Committee  on  Social  Life. — To  encourage  all  forms  of  useful 
recreation,  local  fairs,  baseball  and  other  games;  school  and  neighbor- 
hood picnics;  Christmas,  Easter,  July  Fourth  and  Thanksgiving  cele- 
brations; corn  shuckings;  quiltings;  debates;  musicales;  reading  circles, 
etc.,  etc. 

This  committee  would  also  be  expected  to  look  after  the  question 
of  good  roads. 

(4)  Committee  on  Educational  Work. — This  committee,  it  was  de- 
cided, would  be  expected  to  look  after — 

(a)  Improving  the  school. 

(&)  Extension   work;    lectures;   library   development,  getting 

books,  bulletins,  and  papers  into  all  homes,  etc. 
(c)  Boys'  and  girls'  farm  clubs. 

(5)  Committee  on  Moral  Conditions  and  Improvement. — To  com- 
bat all  agencies  of  dissipation  or  immorality ;  develop  church  and  Sun- 
day school  interests  and  enlist  these  in  the  efforts  for  community  de- 
velopment. 

(6)  Committee  on  Health  Conditions  and  Improvement. — To  study 
conditions  and  adopt  means  for  .promoting  the  health  of  the  com- 
munity. 

(7)  Committee  on  Woman's  Work. — To  look  after  home  equipment, 
to  work  out  plans  for  household  management,  home  industries,  recrea- 
tion for  the  farm  woman;  and  so  on. 

(8)  Committee  on  Arbitration. — To  settle  all  disputed  matters  and 
to  advise  as  to  arbitration  of  private  disputes. 

After  the  committees  are  appointed  chairmen  should  be 
required  to  report  progress  at  each  meeting,  or  failing, 
unexcused,  to  report  at  two  successive  meetings,  should  be 
understood  as  resigning,  and  it  should  also  be  understood 
that  any  member  of  a  committee  who  is  absent  without 
excuse  from  three  successive  meetings  of  his  committee 
would  thereby  retire  himself,  the  chairman  immediately 
naming  a  successor. 

Of  course,  if  you  are  going  to  improve  your  neighborhood, 
the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  ascertain  in  what  respects  it  most 
needs  improvement.  If  you  should  get  sick  and  send  for 
a  doctor  and  he  should  come  one  day  and  give  you  a  lot  of 
medicine  and  wait  till  next  day  to  look  at  your  tongue  and 


FIRST   OF   ALL,    A   GOOD   FARMERS'    CLUB  33 

feel  your  pulse  and  ask  about  your  digestion  and  take  your 
temperature,  you  wouldn't  think  much  of  that  doctor. 

In  the  same  way,  if  you  organize  a  lot  of  people  interested 
in  bettering  your  community,  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  find 
out  what  ails  the  community.  For  this  reason  the  very  first 
thing  to  do  is  to  make  a  census  or  "survey"  of  social,  indus- 
trial, educational  and  health  conditions.  A  friend  of  the 
writer's,  Mr.  John  W.  Robinson,  told  us  recently  how  his 
local  Union,  by  paying  a  competent  young  man  $1.50 
a  day,  in  three  days  made  a  remarkable  census  of  the  whole 
community,  getting  answers  to  forty-eight  pertinent  questions 
from  the  fifty-eight  families  in  the  school  district.  With  this 
comprehensive  information  before  it,  the  local  Union  and 
its  allied  club  of  United  Farm  Women  were  prepared  to 
go  right  to  work  to  meet  the  community's  most  pressing 
needs.  They  knew  how  many  families  were  not  repre- 
sented in  church  or  Sunday  school ;  how  many  children 
were  out  of  school ;  how  many  families  took  no  farm  paper, 
and  how  many  no  county  paper;  how  many  did  not  patron- 
ize the  school  library;  how  many  used  patent  medicines; 
how  many  boys  were  in  the  corn  club,  and  how  many  girls 
were  in  the  tomato  club ;  how  many  farmers  not  in  the 
Union  and  how  many  farmers'  wives  not  in  the  United 
Farm  Women;  how  many  farmers  had  attended  the  insti- 
tute the  previous  year,  and  how  many  women  the  women's 
institutes,  etc. 

It  is  just  such  information,  together  with  similar  specific 
information  as  to  farming  practices,  marketing  methods 
and  rural  credits  that  every  farmers'  club  should  have  in 
definite  shape  before  going  ahead  with  its  work. 

The  writer,  as  chairman  of  a  state  committee  on  this 
subject,  recently  worked  out,  in  collaboration  with  others, 
a  series  of  fifty  questions  bearing  on  community  condi- 
tions, and  this  list  of  questions  has  now  been  used  in  mak- 
ing the  "rural  census"  in  hundreds  of  school  districts. 

We  are  printing  herewith  a  list  of  these  questions  as  used 
in  a  recent  survey  of  one  rural  county    (Moore  County, 


34  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE   PROFITS 

N.  C),  together  with   the  number  of  farmers  answering 
"yes"  and  the  number  answering  "no"  to  each.     We  would 

commend  these  fifty  questions  to  readers  as  a  basis  for 
diagnosing  neighborhood  life  in  any  section. 

QUESTIONS  ASKED  HEAD  OF  EACH  FAMILY 

QUESTIONS  YES  NO 

1.  Do  all  your  children  between  six  and  sixteen  attend 

school?    255  27 

2.  Is  any  boy  or  girl  in  your  family  attending  college? 6  263 

3.  Do  any  of  your  boys  study  the  school  books  on  agricul- 

ture?      53  280 

4.  Do  your  boys  and  girls  study  the  health  books? 149  96 

5.  Do  your  children  read  any  library  books? 211  176 

6.  Do  you  take  a  county  paper? 189  112 

7.  Do  you  take  a  farm  paper? 206  112 

8.  Do  you  get  the  agricultural  department  farm  bulletins?  141  140 

9.  Do  you  own  your  farm? 269  37 

10.  Do  you  belong  to  a  farmers'  organization? 120  181 

11.  Does  your  wife  belong  to  a  woman's  club? 17  136 

12    Do  you  attend  the  farmers'  institute? 226  150 

13.  Does  your  boy  belong  to  a  corn  club? 10  249 

14.  Does  your  girl  belong  to  a  canning  club? 63  234 

15.  Are  you  a  church  member? 245  60 

16.  Do  your  children  attend  Sunday  schools? 226  58 

17.  Do  you  own  farm  machinery  in  co-operation  with  your 

neighbors?    72  226 

18.  Do  you  co-operate  with  your  neighbors  in  buying  fer- 

tilizers, feedstuffs,  or  other  supplies? -—  136  147 

19.  Do  you  co-operate  with  your  neighbors  in  marketing 

your  crops?  87  216 

«0.  Do  you  have  a  garden  all  the  year  around? 225  76 

21.  Do    you    usually   have    milk    and    butter    all    the   year 

around? 250  58 

82.  Has  the  farm  demonstration  agent  helped  you  this  year?  60  237 

23.  Do  you  buy  corn? 120  186 

2^.  Do  you  buy  meat? 213  120 

25.  Do  you  buy  hay? 42  266 

26.  Do  you  raise  corn  to  sell? 93  211 

27.  If  you  sell  corn,  are  you  able  to  get  a  fair  price  for  it 

in  cash? 187  42 

28.  Have  you  pure-bred  cattle? 95  192 

29.  Have  you  pure-bred  poultry? 140  190 

80.  Have  you  pure-bred  hogs? 142  162 

31.  Do  you  sell  any  hogs,  cattle,  pork  or  beef? 162  130 

32.  Is  there  competition  between  the  buyers  of  the  farm 

products  you  sell?  79  171 


FIRST  OF  ALL,   A  GOOD  FARMERS*    CLUB  35 

t 

QUESTIONS  YES       NO 

33.  Do  you  keep  informed  concerning  prices  in  more  than 

one  market?   185  81' 

34.  Have  you  helped  your  local  bank  by  depositing  your 

savings  in  it?  119  181 

35.  Has  your  bank  ever  helped  you  by  lending  you  money?  93  181 

36.  Does  the  buyer  alone  determine  the  grade  of  your  cot- 

ton, tobacco,  peanut  or  other  money  crop? 190  108 

37.  Do  you  use  patent  medicines? 130  164 

38.  Is  your  house  screened? 106  194 

39.  Do  you  sleep  with  your  windows  open  in  winter? 171  132 

40.  Do  you  get  R.  F.  D.  service? 218  94 

41.  Would  you  favor  a  reasonable  tax  for  road  improve- 

ment?    234  77 

42.  Is  there  a    telephone  in  the  house? 58  258 

43.  Do  you  have  to  carry  water  over  100  yards? 89  220 

44.  Is  your  house  insured  against  fire? 60  240 

45.  Do  the  boys  have  Saturday  afternoons  off  for  baseball 

or  other  recreations? 94  165 

46.  Is  the  house  painted?—- 63  234 

47.  Are  the  outbuildings  whitewashed? 11  273 

48.  Would  you  favor  larger  schools  with  more  children, 

more  teachers,  better  paid,  larger  and  better  house 

and  grounds?   191  116 

49.  Would  you  favor  industrial,  agricultural  and  some  high 

school  subjects  in  your  school? 243  63 

60.  Would  you  favor  enlarging  the  school  district  by  con- 
solidation, with  transportation  where  necessary  and 

voting  reasonable  local  tax  to  secure  these  results  ?__  87  216 

In  appointing  the  committees  we  have  indicated  for  your 
farmers'  club,  we  would  also  suggest  that  you  do  not  make 
them  up  entirely  of  members  of  your  own  club.  Put  on 
each  committee,  of  course,  three  or  five  of  your  ablest  mem- 
bers who  are  definitely  interested  in  the  subject  assigned, 
but  add  two  or  three  outsiders  who  you  know  will  do  good 
work  as  associate  members  to  act  with  them.  Both  men 
and  women  should  be  on  each  committee. 

Then  arrange  public  meetings,  say  once  a  quarter,  or  at 
least  twice  a  year,  inviting  everybody  in  the  community, 
young  and  old,  male  and  female,  to  attend  and  join  in  dis- 
cussion of  the  plans  developed  by  the  committee — plans  for 
better  farming,  marketing,  etc.,  and  plans  for  making  the 
neighborhood  a  better  place  to  live  in.     At  the  first  public 


36  HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

meeting  it  will  be  a  good  idea  to  present  the  results  of  your 
census  or  survey  and  have  local  speakers  tell  what  plans 
for  progress  they  think  should  be  taken  up.  Both  by  nam- 
ing some  outsiders  as  associate  members  of  your  commit- 
tees and  by  getting  other  outsiders  to  attend  your  public 
meetings,  you  w^ill  increase  the  interest  in  your  organiza- 
tion, and  by  showing  that  there  is  real  work  to  be  done, 
win  many  to  membership  and  activity.  Picnic  features 
will  also  prove  helpful. 

Now,  Mr.  Farmer,  Mrs,  Farmer,  seeing  what  can  be  done 
(for  if  you  do  not  need  all  these  plans  you  will  certainly 
need  some  of  them),  why  not  set  about  organizing  your 
neighborhood  this  year?  It's  the  only  way  to  develop  a 
live  community.  The  New  England  "town  meetings" 
(township  meetings,  in  fact)  did  much  to  make  New  Eng- 
land great ;  but  in  the  South  and  West  we  have  no  similar 
occasions  for  bringing  together  all  the  people  of  a  township 
or  school  district. 

The  best  plan  is  to  have  a  strong  graded  school  and  make 
it  the  social  center  of  your  community,  have  your  club 
meetings  there,  and  let  all  the  activities  of  the  neighbor- 
hood group  themselves  around  the  school.  But  unless  you 
organize  your  farmers  and  farm  women  in  some  way,  noth- 
ing else  can  possibly  make  your  section  the  progressive 
community  it  ought  to  be. 


CHAPTER  III 

CO-OPERATIVE    BUYING    IS    GOOD;    CO-OPERA- 
TIVE MERCHANDISING  MAY  OR  MAY  NOT  BE 

Co-operative  Merchandising  Not  the  Highest  Form  of  Co- 
operation— Rules  That  Should  Be  Observed  in  Any  Case — 
When  Farmers  Are  Entitled  to  Manufacturers'  Prices — 
Why  They  Should  Buy  for  Less  Than  Town  Patrons — 
Farmers  Should  Club  Together  and  Place  Monthly  or  Semi- 
Monthly  Bidk  Orders — Better  Borrow  at  6  or  8  Per  Cent 
Than  Pay  lo  to  70  Per  Cent  in  Form  of  "Time  Prices" — 
Co-operative  Merchandising  a  Better  Thing  to  "Grow"  Into 
Than  to  "Go"  Into. 

WHENEVER  a  group  of  farmers  organize,  one  of 
the  first  questions  likely  to  come  up  is  as  to  whether 
it  is  wise  to  buy  a  stock  of  goods  and  run  a  "co- 
operative store."  Of  course,  there  is  no  one  answer 
that  can  be  given  to  fit  all  cases.  It  depends,  for  one  thing, 
upon  whether  or  not  the  prospective  manager  is  absolutely 
known  to  be  a  good  business  man.  It  depends  also  upon 
whether  the  organization  has  a  large  enough  membership  to 
insure  patronage  enough  to  make  the  venture  a  success — in 
connection  with  whatever  patronage  may  be  safely  counted 
on  to  come  from  outside. 

And  then  the  prospective  stockholders  or  promoters  should 
also  consider  this  important  fact — that  farmers  almost  every- 
where can  get  quotations  on  short  notice  and  do  most  of  the  co- 
operative buying  that  is  necessary  by  joining  together  and 
ordering  what  they  want  and  paying  cash,  without  running 
the  risks  (and  they  are  big  risks  for  inexperienced  men)  that 
are  involved  in  purchasing  a  stock  of  goods  and  hiring  a  man 

37 


38  HOW    FARMERS    CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

to  sell  them.  Of  course,  whenever  and  wherever  you  hire  a 
man  to  stay  with  a  stock  of  goods  and  sell  them,  his  salary 
must  be  added  to  the  selling  price. 

Certainly  farmers  should  not  start  a  new  store  in  an  area 
already  abundantly  supplied  with  merchants  without  first 
giving  the  matter  very  serious  thought.  In  Wisconsin, 
Minnesota  and  nearby  states  a  considerable  number  of 
co-operative  stores  are  now  succeeding  admirably,  but  in 
most  cases  it  has  been  the  policy  to  buy  out  some  existing 
store  rather  than  start  a  new  one  outright.  "We  have 
enough  middlemen  already,"  these  wise  Western  farmers 
have  said.  "We  don't  want  to  increase  the  number."  If 
they  think  a  co-operative  store  is  needed  they  watch  their 
chance  and  buy  out  some  merchant  when  he  is  willing  to 
sell  at  a  reasonable  price. 

There  is  one  fact  that  we  would  emphasize  in  any  case, 
and  that  is  that  buying  ordinary  groceries  and  dry  goods  is 
nowhere  the  big  and  significant  form  of  co-operation  to 
which  our  farmers  must  give  attention.  Consequently,  if 
you  and  a  group  of  neighbors  buy  a  little  stock  of  calico, 
plug  tobacco.  Western  side  meat,  and  granulated  sugar, 
and  hire  a  manager  to  sit  down  and  wait  for  customers, 
don't  fool  yourself  into  thinking  you  have  then  started  the 
best  form  of  co-operation. 

Simply  taking  stock  in  a  proposition  like  this  and  wait- 
ing for  whatever  success  or  failure  follows  will  not  develop 
the  co-operative  spirit  among  you ;  will  not  make  real 
business  men  out  of  you ;  will  not  develop  the  genuine 
'"pull  together"  spirit  among  you.  It  is  both  more  risky 
'and  less  beneficial  than  other  forms  of  co-operation.  It  is 
more  risky  than  these,  even  if  you  are  wise  enough  to  sell 
only  for  cash — because  inexperienced  men  will  not  select 
stock  wisely,  and  because  unless  you  have  a  big  sale  your 
running  expenses  are  likely  to  more  than  eat  up  your 
profits,  and  especially  because  nine  stores  out  of  ten  will 
sooner  or  later  invite  disaster  by  selling  on  credit. 


CO-OPERATIVE   BUYING    IS    GOOD  39 

Consequently,  while  we  believe  co-operative  stores  are 
advisable  in  many  instances,  we  believe  five  rules  regard- 
ing them  should  always  be  observed : 

(i)  They  should  never  be  started  until  a  thoroughly  safe 
manager  is  found ; 

(2)  They  should  have  what  seems  to  be  an  adequate 
patronage  in  prospect — either  through  superseding  an  ex- 
isting store  or  by  taking  over  the  patronage  of  a  co-opera- 
tive purchasing  society; 

(3)  They  should  sell  only  for  cash ; 

(4)  They  should  comprise  townsmen  as  well  as  farmers ; 
and 

(5)  They  should  pay  only  legal  interest  on  stock  and 
divide  all  other  profits  on  patronage. 

What  is  probably  a  wise  provision,  however,  is  the  plan 
of  giving  twice  as  great  profits  on  patronage  furnished  by 
stockholders  as  on  that  furnished  by  non-stockholders — 
provided  every  man  is  free  to  buy  stock.  This  plan  of 
"double  dividends  for  stockholders"  naturally  encourages 
every  man  to  take  one  or  more  shares. 

Moreover,  we  repeat  that  even  when  all  these  conditions 
are  met,  we  regard  co-operative  merchandising  as  both 
more  risky  and  less  beneficial  for  farmers  than  co-opera- 
tion with  regard  to  the  three  bigger  and  more  necessary 
lines  directly  affecting  farm  work  and  life — co-operation  in 
producing,  marketing  and  financing  the  farmer's  crops.  All 
the  three  forms  of  co-operation  just  mentioned  require 
business  thought  and  foresight  and  prudence  and  fellow- 
ship on  the  part  of  the  individual  co-operators,  and  a  will- 
ingness to  pull  together  and  bear  one  another's  burdens — 
in  greater  degree  than  is  required  in  conducting  a  co- 
operative store,  whose  affairs  are  left  largely  to  the  man- 
ager. These  are  the  things  that  develop  character  and  a 
spirit  of  brotherhood,  a  feeling  of  unity,  a  capacity  for 
team  work — things  which  our  farmers  need  much  more 
than  they  need  the  money  they  may  get  even  from  success- 
ful co-operative  stores. 


40  HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND    DOUBLE   PROFITS 

To  make  my  position  perfectly  clear,  I  think  I  ought  to 
repeat  that  I  believe  every  farmer  should  participate  in 
co-operative  buying,  but  I  should  not  say  at  all  that  every 
farmer  should  participate  in  co-operative  merchandising. 
Ordering  together  certain  definite  supplies  you  need  in 
farm  work — this  may  be  a  very  dififerent  proposition  from 
buying  a  miscellaneous  assortment  of  goods  and  hiring 
a  man  to  sell  them  to  a  miscellaneous  body  of  people.  This 
latter  policy  may  or  may  not  be  a  desirable  form  of  co- 
operation; that  will  depend  upon  local  conditions.  But  in 
any  case  farmers  should  join  together  to  buy  their  fer- 
tilizers, feedstuffs  and  machinery,  whether  bought  through 
a  local  merchant  or  from  a  distant  dealer.  Upon  this  point 
Mr.  George  W.  Russell  of  the  Irish  Agricultural  Organiza- 
tion Society  has  well  said: 

"You  must  bear  in  mind,  what  is  too  often  forgotten,  that  farmers 
are  manufacturers,  and  as  such  are  entitled  to  buy  the  raw  materials 
for  their  industry  at  wholesale  prices.  Every  other  kind  of  manufac- 
turer in  the  world  gets  trade  terms  when  he  buys.  Those  who  buy,  not 
to  consume,  but  to  manufacture  and  sell  again,  get  their  requirements 
at  wholesale  terms  in  every  country  in  the  world.  If  a  publisher  of 
books  is  approached  by  a  bookseller  he  gives  that  bookseller  trade 
terms,  because  he  buys  to  sell  again.  If  you  or  I  as  private  individuals 
want  one  of  those  books  we  pay  the  full  retail  price.  Even  the  cob- 
bler, the  carpenter,  the  solitary  artist,  get  trade  terms.  The  farmer, 
who  is  as  much  a  manufacturer  as  the  shipbuilder,  or  the  factory  pro- 
prietor, is  as  much  entitled  to  trade  terms  when  he  buys  the  raw  ma- 
terials for  his  industry.  His  seeds,  fertilizers,  plows,  implements, 
cake,  feeding  stuffs,  are  the  raw  materials  of  his  industry,  which  he 
uses  to  produce  wheat,  beef,  mutton,  pork,  or  whatever  else;  and,  in 
my  opinion,  there  should  be  no  differentiation  between  the  farmer 
when  he  buys  and  any  other  kind  of  manufacturer. 

"Is  it  any  wonder  that  agriculture  decays  in  countries  where  the 
farmers  are  expected  to  buy  at  retail  prices  and  sell  at  wholesale 
prices?    You  must  not,  to  save  any  row,  sell  the  rights  of  farmers." 

Let  us  repeat,  then,  that  we  believe  farmers  should  always 
do  co-operative  buying — but  not  always  co-operative  merchan- 
dising. We  believe  in  co-operative  buying,  because  farmers 
are   entitled   to   manufacturers'  prices,   as   Mr.   Russell   em- 


CO-OPERATIVE    BUYING    IS    GOOD  41 

phasizes;  and  because  they  are  entitled  to  buy  any  kind  of 
merchandise  together  and  save  the  extra  expense  and  labor 
and  bookkeeping  that  manufacturers  and  dealers  would  incur 
in  making  separate  sales  of  such  merchandise  to  all  these  in- 
dividual farmers.  Farmers  are  also  entitled  to  buy  from  city 
stores  at  lower  prices  than  these  stores  charge  city  customers 
for  whom  expensive  deliveries  must  be  made.  As  Mr.  C.  W. 
Hillhouse  of  Sylvester,  Ga.,  said  in  a  letter  to  the  writer 
recently : 

"Take  our  little  town.  There  are  perhaps  a  half  dozen  of  our  mer- 
chants who  cater  to  the  city  trade  and  run  delivery  wagons,  so  they 
have  the  expense  of  six  men  to  drive,  up-keep  of  six  drays,  expense 
and  feed  of  six  horses,  when  perhaps  through  co-operation  of  these  six 
merchants,  one  dray,  one  horse  and  one  man  could  do  the  work.  One 
lady  away  out  in  the  residence  section,  say  a  mile  distant,  will  'phone 
one  merchant  for  a  peck  of  meal,  another  for  a  sifter,  another  for  a 
quart  of  vinegar.  So  away  go  three  drays  to  make  these  deliveries, 
where  by  co-operation  one  could  do  it  easily." 

This  is  one  explanation  of  the  ever-increasing  "high  cost  of 
living."  Of  course,  the  cost  of  all  this  expensive  delivery 
service  must  be  added  to  the  prices  of  the  merchandise  sold — 
there  is  no  other  way  on  earth  to  pay  it — ^and  when  a  town 
store  charges  both  townspeople  and  farmers  the  same  cost- 
plus-delivery  prices,  the  farmers  are  simply  paying  part  of  the 
cost  of  this  exorbitantly  expensive  system  of  free  delivery  for 
townspeople.  Now  if  merchants  will  not  co-operate  and  at 
least  reduce  this  expense  to  a  minimum,  they  need  not  be  sur- 
prised if  consumers,  especially  country  consumers,  decide  to  do 
more  and  more  co-operating  on  their  own  account.  As  Prof. 
L.  H.  Goddard  has  said  in  a  circular  of  the  Rural  Organiza- 
tion Service,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture : 

"It  is  probable  that  very  few  people  realize  the  unfairness  of  any 
store  charging  farmers  the  same  price  for  supplies  as  they  charge  city 
people,  even  though  the  goods  may  be  sold  to  the  farmers  on  the  credit 
basis,  which  perhaps  is  less  often  than  in  the  case  of  city  people.  The 
cost  of  delivering  an  order  of  goods  from  the  store  to  the  home  of  the 
town  consumer  will  vary  from  perhaps  as  low  as  three  cents  to  at 


42  HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND    DOUBLE   PROFITS 

least  as  much  as  10  cents  per  order,  depending  upon  the  size  of  the 
town  and  the  kind  of  delivery.  By  a  combination  of  their  delivery 
business  so  that  one  set  of  wagons  delivered  for  11  stores  in  a  city  of 
6,000  inhabitants,  these  stores  were  able  to  have  seven  wagons  do  the 
work  that  had  been  requiring  17  wagons,  and  do  it  even  better  than  it 
had  been  done  previously.  After  effecting  this  combination  the  cost 
of  delivery  per  order  was  cut  to  about  3^  cents.  In  a  city  of  21,000 
inhabitants,  in  which  a  store  kept  account  of  cost  of  delivery  and 
charged  it  up  to  each  consumer  in  accordance  with  the  number  of  de- 
liveries required,  as  it  really  should  be  in  all  cases,  the  cost  was  from 
9  to  10  cents  per  order.  In  the  first  mentioned  town  there  are  resi- 
dents who  rarely  ever  fail  to  have  something  on  every  one  of  the  four 
daily  trips  which  the  stores  have  been  able  to  maintain  on  the  im- 
portant streets  of  the  town,  since  establishing  their  combination  de- 
livery. 

"A  moment's  calculation  will  show  that  at  the  low  cost  of  3^ 
cents  per  order,  which  probably  is  not  more  than  half  the  average  of  all 
stores,  it  costs  $40  or  more  per  year  to  deliver  goods  to  such  a  family 
as  the  ones  mentioned,  whereas  another  family  that  has  two  deliveries 
per  week  would  occasion  a  delivery  expense  about  one-tenth  as  great. 
Where  goods  are  delivered,  the  delivery  charge  alone  is  said  to  cost 
town  stores  from  5  to  20  per  cent  of  the  cost  of  goods  sold,  depending 
on  size  of  town  and  character  of  goods." 

This  delivery  cost  of  purchased  articles,  it  must  be  re- 
membered, is  always  one  of  the  chief  items  of  expense  in 
piecemeal  buying,  and  it  is  expensive  whether  the  farmer 
or  the  merchant  does  the  work  of  delivering.  When  a 
man  and  a  horse  are  taken  from  farm  work  half  a  day  (as 
not  infrequently  happens)  to  get  a  few  pounds  of  meat,  a 
pound  of  coffee,  two  plow-points,  and  a  few  pounds  of 
nails,  the  delivery  cost  may  be  not  merely  "from  5  to  20 
per  cent,"  as  in  the  city,  but  may  even  reach  25  or  50  per 
cent.  Farmers  ought  to  consider,  therefore,  that  in  buy- 
ing in  piddling  quantities,  they  not  only  pay  higher  prices, 
but  the  delivery  cost  is  greatly  increased  or  even  multiplied. 
As  Mr.  E.  M.  Stickney,  a  Demopolis,  Ala.,  farmer  said 
recently : 

"Is  it  best  for  a  man  to  buy  what  he  needs  periodically,  say  once  a 
'month,  from  a  wholesale  dealer  and  save  the  worry  and  distraction  of 


CO-OPERATIVE   BUYING   IS   GOOD  43 


;    frequent  and  irregular  trips  to  town,  and  at  the  same  time  save  the 

I  retail  man's  profit,  or  is  it  best  to  buy  what  you  need  just  any  time  you 
),  happen  to  think  of  it,  by  piecemeal  in  a  hand-to-mouth  way,  and  pay 
:!   from  10  to  20  per  cent  more  than  you  should?     Of  course,  all  will  agree 

II  that  the  former  method  is  the  best.     I  know,  however,  of  several  fam- 
I  ilies  in  this  locality  who  buy  supplies  as  though  they  were  next  door 

to  a  grocery  store. 

"Now  tell  me,  what  do  farmers,  living  six  miles  from  any  base  of 
supplies,  look  like  buying  just  enough  for  two  or  three  days  or  even 
a  week?  They  are  tearing  up  the  organization  of  their  working  force 
by  trips  to  town,  and  at  the  same  time  losing  money  by  buying  in  small 
quantities.  All  this  could  be  avoided  by  well-planned  purchases,  once 
a  month  at  a  wholesale  price,  and  a  little  trouble  in  caring  for  the 
groceries  after  they  are  bought." 

Before  farmers  decide  to  start  new  stores  of  their  own  in 
little  villages,  therefore,  it  will  be  well  to  inquire  if  it  will 
i  not  be  a  better  form  of  co-operation  to  make  up  monthly 
\  orders  for  the  main  supplies  needed,  and  place  these  bulk 
f  orders  in  whatever  way  will  save  the  most  money.  Fre- 
quently the  local  merchant  will  handle  them  on  a  small 
commission. 

Ninety-nine  times  out  a  hundred,  too,  it  will  pay  rep- 
utable farmers  to  borrow  money  from  some  bank  or  honest 
money-lender  (preferably  a  bank)  at  6  or  8  per  cent  in- 
terest per  year  instead  of  paying  at  the  rate  of  lo  ta 
40  per  cent  a  year  in  the  form  of  "time  prices."  Only 
a  few  months  ago  the  writer  sent  out  a  batch  of  inquiries 
to  several  hundred  farmers  in  the  South  Atlantic  and  South 
Central  States,  including  the  following  questions : 

"About  how  much  more  do  merchants  charge  for  time  prices  than 
for  cash  prices  in  your  community?  What  per  cent  extra  for  six 
months  time?" 

Taking  fifty  replies,  without  selection,  just  exactly  as  we 
come  to  them,  we  find  farmers'  replies  as  follows : 

Per  cent  extra  charged  for  six  months'  time  prices :  8-15- 
5-30  to  100-40-5-20-20-25- 10-8-25  to  40-40-40-10-25  to  50-50- 
20-25  to  50-35-10  to  25-10  to  20-10-15-15  to  25-10  to  50-25  to 


44  HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

40-47-" 2  for  I  "-8- 10  to  5o-io-i5-33i^-"They  charge  from  25 
per  cent  to  grand  larceny"-io  to  20-10-4-5-10-15-4-16-20-10- 
20  to  25-10-20-50-25-10  to  25.  ! 

On  the  writer's  own  market  last  spring  and  summer  corn  * 
sold  for  85  cents  a  bushel  cash  and  $1.05  on  time,  due  \ 
October  i.  Farmers  who  bought  April  i  thus  paid  an  interest  ' 
rate  of  47  per  cent  a  year;  farmers  who  bought  July  I  \ 
paid  at  the  rate  of  94  per  cent  a  year,  j 

From  these  figures  it  seems  safe  to  assume  that  on  time  j 
prices  for  ordinary  supplies  the  average  charge  is  I2i/^  to  i 
20  per  cent  for  six  months'  time,  or  at  the  rate  of  25  to  40  j 
per  cent  interest  per  annum.  The  same  increase  is  charged  '\ 
on  many  purchases  paid  within  three  months'  time,  making  ! 
the  interest  rate  in  such  cases  equal  50  to  80  per  cent  per  1 
year.  And  with  such  evidence  it  should  certainly  not  be  ' 
necessary  to  ask  whether  it  will  pay  to  borrow  money  at  , 
6  to  8  per  cent  per  year  and  save  from  10  to  40  per  cent 
thereby.  \ 

Instead  of  paying  "time  prices"  we  should  certainly  ad-  ' 
vise  any  honest  farmer  to  go  to  some  banker  or  man  of  i 
wealth  and  borrow  money  at  a  reasonable  rate  of  interest,  j 
put  it  in  a  bank,  and  check  on  it  as  needed  to  pay  cash  for 
whatever  he  needs. 

Understand  us,  we  do  not  favor  putting  all  the  blame  on  : 
the  merchants.  They  have  to  stand  so  many  losses  from  ] 
dishonest  and  shiftless  persons  that  they  must  make  time  1 
prices  exorbitant;  so  exorbitant  that  an  honest  man  can't  < 
afford  to  pay  them — certainly  not  until  he  has  tried  his  | 
local  banks  and  exhausted  all  other  efforts  to  get  money  ' 
at  a  reasonable  rate  of  interest.  j 

The  fact  is  that  whenever  you  get  goods  on  credit  and  j 
later  pay  for  them  as  an  honest  man,  you  must  always  pay  i 
for  the  goods  the  dishonest  man  bought  on  credit  and  ' 
didn't  pay  for.  This  is  the  meaning  of  "time  prices" —  ; 
this  together  with  the  fact  that  the  merchant  must  always  i 
add  on  still  another  percentage  to  cover  risks.     For  ex-    ; 

i 


CO-OPERATIVE    BUYING    IS    GOOD  45 

ample,  when  I  lent  a  cousin  on  my  old  homestead  farm 
last  year  the  money  to  pay  for  his  fertilizer  in  May,  the 
interest  I  charged  him  for  the  six  months  was  only  3  per 
cent,  while  the  merchant's  discount  for  cash  was  20  per 
cent — a  saving  to  my  cousin  of  17  per  cent.  But  this  didn't 
mean  that  the  merchant  was  charging  17  per  cent  extra 
hiterest  for  six  months.  Rather,  the  17  per  cent  interest 
represented  (i)  average  losses  from  other  farmers  and 
tenants  who  might  not  pay  for  the  fertilizer  at  all,  plus  (2) 
a  very  handsome  margin  of  insurance  against  the  utmost 
possible  loss  the  merchant  might  sustain — all  to  be  paid 
by  honest  buyers. 

Here,  then,  is  the  chance  for  co-operation  in  buying. 
Farmers  whenever  possible  must  arrange  to  pay  cash  for 
their  supplies,  and  those  who  have  cash  or  can  obtain  it 
will  find  it  profitable  to  club  their  orders  together  once  or 
twice  a  month.  Then  if  patronage  develops  and  patrons 
show  such  "sticking  qualities"  that  it  is  evident  that  the 
day  for  bigger  things  has  come,  it  will  be  time  enough  to 
consider  opening  a  warehouse  say  one  or  two  days  a  week 
for  the  convenience  of  other  farmers  and  thus  making  a 
more  serious  start  into  co-operative  merchandising. 

As  Prof.  Goddard  says  in  the  circular  from  which  we 
hare  just  quoted : 

"In  communities  in  which  farmers  cannot  secure  from  dealers  the 
proper  reduction  in  the  cost  of  suppHes,  even  when  they  are  willing  to 
limit  the  service  to  the  economic  minimum  and  to  buy  for  cash,  or 
where  the  service  afforded  does  not  rise  to  the  level  of  the  economic 
minimum,  there  are  a  number  of  courses  open  to  them : 

"1.  A  simple  plan  is  for  a  number  of  individuals,  with  a  common 
shipping  point,  to  join  in  sending  an  order  to  some  available  supply 
house. 

"2.  With  further  experience  and  information  such  a  group  of  farm- 
ers may  usually  get  a  better  reduction  on  carload  cash  orders  of  such 
articles  as  seed,  feed,  twine,  machinery,  fuel,  salt,  flour,  sugar,  cement, 
building  material,  fencing,  fertilizer,  etc.,  because  of  being  able  to  order 
in  many  cases  directly  from  the  factory  or  producer,  or  from  a  source 
of  supply  very  close  to  the  producer. 


46  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE  PROFITS 

"3.  If  desired  this  group  of  farmers  may  make  available  some 
building  at  or  near  the  local  shipping  point  which  would  serve  as  a 
warehouse  for  storing  supplies  in  case  the  car  arrives  when  the  people 
are  very  busy,  or  the  roads  very  bad,  or  in  case  part  of  the  carload 
would  not  be  needed  until  later  in  the  year. 

"4.  In  some  cases  where  these  warehouses  have  been  established  it 
has  been  found  necessary  to  appoint  some  one  to  keep  them  open  on 
stated  days,  afternoons,  or  evenings  of  each  week  or  month.  In  a  few 
cases,  at  least,  these  warehouses  have  gradually  grown  into  stores 
which  were  kept  open  most  or  all  the  days  of  the  week. 

"5.  Still  another  plan  is  to  establish  a  farmers'  mercantile  corpora- 
tion or  a  farmers'  co-operative  store — raising  the  capital  for  same  in 
the  usual  way,  by  selling  shares." 

Some  further  good  counsel  as  to  how  to  conduct  the  ware- 
house of  the  purchasing  society  is  given  by  Prof.  Goddard 
in  the  following  paragraphs  : 

"If  it  seems  wise  to  establish  a  warehouse,  as  mentioned  in  item  3, 
it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  one  of  the  primary  purposes  of  the  ware- 
house is  to  promote  economy,  and,  therefore,  that  proper  economy  is 
necessary  to  every  state  of  the  work.  For  example,  it  will  usually  be 
possible  to  secure  for  warehouse  purposes,  at  a  moderate  rental,  some 
old  building  that  will  be  good  enough  to  protect  its  contents  from 
storm  and  intruders.  The  higher  the  rent  the  more  it  will  be  necessary 
to  add  to  the  price  of  goods  that  are  stored.  By  all  means  avoid 
raising  money  to  buy  a  building  for  this  purpose  until  the  business  is 
well  estabUshed  and  it  is  badly  needed." 

"If  the  practice  develops  of  shipping  in  material  to  supply  future 
needs,  it  may  be  necessary  to  open  the  warehouse  more  frequently,  for 
example,  Saturday  afternoons  and  several  evenings  each  week,  and 
with  the  further  development  of  business  of  this  character  the  build- 
ing will  need  to  be  opened  still  more  frequently  and  continuously. 
Just  when  the  warehouse  will  arise  to  the  dignity  of  being  called  a 
'store'  will  be  hard  to  determine.  It  might  perhaps  better  continue  to 
be  called  a  warehouse,  no  matter  how  much  business  of  that  character 
it  does,  since  most  people  have  come  to  associate  the  much  more 
elaborate  and  unnecessary  service  with  the  name  'store,'  and  by  retain- 
ing the  name  'warehouse'  the  organizers  and  those  who  later  become 
interested  will  continue  to  keep  in  mind  that  one  of  the  purposes  for 
which  the  movement  was  started  was  to  cut  down  service  and  corre- 
sponding expense." 

In  other  words,  Prof.  Goddard's  conclusion,  like  our  own, 


CO-OPER^\TIVE   BUYING   IS  GOOD  47 

seems  to  be  that  farmers  may  be  sure  they  ought  to  do  co- 
operative buying,  but  ought  not  to  feel  so  sure  that  they 
ought  to  do  co-operative  merchandising.  And  where  the 
co-operative  store  succeeds  it  is  usually  when  the  people 
"grow"  into  it  rather  than  "go"  into  it.  Begin  at  least  with 
co-operative  buying. 


CHAPTER  IV 

RURAL  CREDITS  AND  CO-OPERATION 

Not  All  European  Ideas  Are  Adaptable  Here,  hut  Some  of 
Them  Are — "Amortization"  Explained  and  Illustrated— 
Every  State  Should  Adopt  the  Torrens  System  of  Register- 
ing Land  Titles — We  Must  Make  It  Easy  to  Save  Money  as 
Well  as  Borrow  It. 

ADAM  SMITH  observed  in  his  "Wealth  of  Nations," 
written  in   1776,  that  "since  the  downfall  of  the 
Roman  Empire  the  policy  of  all  the  great  European 
nations  has  been  more  favorable  to  manufacturing, 
the  industry  of  the  towns,  than  to  agriculture,  the  industry 
of  the  country." 

If  the  celebrated  English  economist  were  still  living  he 
might  truthfully  make  the  same  observation  as  being  good 
to  this  day,  and  he  might  include  America  along  with  the 
European  countries  in  his  statement.  And  he  might  fur- 
ther cite  the  banking  system  of  the  United  States  these  last 
hundred  years  as  a  fine  illustration  of  how  the  government 
as  a  rule  has  calmly  formed  its  statutes  for  the  benefit  of 
the  city  man,  placidly  assuming  that  the  tillers  of  the  soil 
have  no  rights  that  urban  interests  and  lawmakers  are 
bound  to  respect.  Until  the  new  currency  legislation  of 
1913,  for  example.  National  banks  might  not  lend  money 
on  land  at  all,  and  if  the  farmer  managed  to  present  other 
satisfactory  security,  he  could  get  money  only  for  three  or 
four  months  at  the  time,  whereas  in  farming  one  usually 
needs  money  for  a  longer  period  or  not  at  all. 


In  recent  years,  however,  a  number  of  European  coun- 
tries have  worked  out  more  or  less  satisfactory  rural  credit 


RURAL    CREDITS   AND    CO-OPERATION  49 

systems,  and  while  some  European  plans  (such  as  the  un- 
limited liability  of  members  in  Raiffeisen  banks)  would 
not  be  popular  in  this  country,  there  are  certain  European 
methods  our  American  farmers  should  take  advantage  of. 

One  of  these  is  the  amortization  plan  of  farm  loans,  such 
as  the  writer  found  in  operation  in  Ireland  and  on  the  Con- 
tinent, whereby  a  man  may  buy  a  farm  and  pay  for  it  in 
small  annual  or  semi-annual  installments  running  through 
10,  20,  40  or  even  60  years,  each  installment  amounting  to 
little  more  than  legal  interest,  but  gradually  reducing  the 
principal  until  all  is  paid.  It's  the  building  and  loan  idea 
of  "Buying  Your  Home  With  Rent  Money."  Thus,  in  Ire- 
land we  found  land  which  had  been  sold  to  the  farmers,  the 
government  advancing  the  money  on  payments  running 
68  years,  the  buyer  to  pay  3^  per  cent  a  year,  2^  per  cent 
counting  as  interest  and  J^  per  cent  a  year  going  to  pay  off 
the  debt.  (Of  course,  2^  per  cent  interest  is  ridiculously 
low,  and  probably  no  government  for  a  hundred  years  will 
ever  oflfer  so  low  a  rate  again.)  \n  New  Zealand  a  man  can 
pay  for  land  by  paying  5  per  cent  a  year  interest  and  3  per 
cent  a  year  on  the  principal  for  twenty  years. 

Amortization,  of  course,  is  simply  the  principle  of  com- 
pound interest  in  reverse  action — working  for  the  benefit 
of  the  borrower  instead  of  for  the  benefit  of  the  lender. 
For  example,  interest  on  $100  at  6  per  cent  is  $6  a  year. 
But  if  you  agree  to  pay  $9  a  year  (which  is  equal  to  9  per 
cent  a  year  on  the  original  $100  principal)  you  would  at 
the  end  of  the  first  year  reduce  the  principal  to  $97,  so  that 
the  interest  the  second  year  would  be  on  only  $97  instead 
of  $100 — or  $5.82  interest  instead  of  $6  interest.  In  other 
words,  the  second  year  you  would  have  $3.18  left  to  apply 
on  the  principal,  reducing  the  balance  due  to  $93.82 — and 
so  on.  Each  year  the  principal  would  become  smaller 
and  the  interest  correspondingly  smaller  and  the  payment 
on  the  principal  correspondingly  greater,  until  the  debt 
would  be  cleared  up. 


50 


HOW    FARMERS    CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 


In  order  to  make  the  idea  perfectly  clear,  we  submit  here- 
■with  a  table  we  have  worked  out  showing  just  how  with 
money  at  6  per  cent  you  could  borrow  money  under  this 
plan  and  by  paying  9  per  cent  a  year  on  the  original  amount 
pay  off  the  whole  debt,  whatever  it  was,  in  19  years.  Let 
us  take  a  $100  loan  as  a  basis.  If  you  wish  to  see  how  it 
would  work  with  a  $500  loan,  simply  multiply  each  figure 
in  the  table  by  5,  or  for  a  $1,000  loan,  multiply  by  10,  and 
so  on. 


Paying  Off  a  $100  Loan  by  Paying  $9  a  Year,  Interest  at  6  Per  Cent 


Tear 

Interest 
due  for 
the  year 

Rest  of  $9 

Pay't  left  for 

principal 

Total  pay't 

on  principal 

to  date 

Balance 

due  on 

principal 

1st 

2d - 

$6.00 
5.82 
5.63 
5.43 
5.21 
4.98 
4.74 
4.49 
4.22 
3.93 
3.63 
3.30 
2.96 
2.60 
2.22 
1.81 
1.38 
.92 
.44 

$3.00 
3.18 
3.37 
3.57 
3.79 
4.02 
4.26 
4.51 
4.78 
6.07 
6.37 
6.70 
6.04 
6.40 
6.78 
7.19 
7.62 
8.08 
7.27 

$3.00 
6.18 
9.55 
13.12 
16.91 
20.93 
25.19 
29.70 
34.48 
39.55 
44.92 
50.62 
56.66 
63.06 
69.84 
77.03 
84.65 
92.73 
100.00 

$97.00 
93  82 

3d 

90.45 
86.88 
83.09 
79.07 
74.81 
70.30 
65.52 
60.45 
55.08 
49.38 
43.34 
36.94 
30.16 
22.97 
15.35 
7.27 
None 

4th 

5th 

6th 

7th 

8th 

9th 

10th 

11th 

12th 

13th 

14th 

15th 

16th 

17th 

18th 

19th 

Most  amortization  plans  also  provide  that  the  borrower 
may  make  heavier  payments  at  any  time  or  pay  off  the 
entire  principal  and  save  all  future  interest. 

It  is  easy  to  see  how  such  a  plan  would  stimulate  thrift, 
industry  and  enterprise.  Thousands  of  people  unable  to 
buy  land  under  present  conditions  would  purchase  under 


RURAL    CREDITS    AND    CO-OPERATION  51 

such  an  amortization  payment  plan  as  we  have  mentioned; 
thousands  who  are  unable  to  tile-drain  their  lands,  or  drain, 
swamps,  or  build  silos,  or  build  worthy  homes,  would  enter 
the  door  of  hope  thus  opened  to  them. 

Of  course,  we  can  hear  some  people  say  that  many  would 
borrow  foolishly.  That  is  undoubtedly  true,'but  it  does  not 
seem  likely  that  very  many  more  would  borrow  foolishly  than 
now,  when  we  recall  the  thousands  of  poor  people  who  are 
slaves  to  the  credit  system  and  to  loan  sharks.  And  if  a 
man  borrows  unwisely  under  this  plan,  there  would  be  hope 
for  him  and  his  family  to  escape  the  burden  of  debt  in  time, 
whereas  under  the  present  mortgage  system,  foreclosure 
continually  stares  them  in  the  face. 

II 

If  our  farmers  are  ever  to  borrow  money  profitably  on. 
land  security,  however,  they  must  have  everywhere  a  better 
system  of  registering  land  titles — something  like  the  now 
famous  Torrens  system.  In  Germany,  for  example,  the 
writer  was  told  over  and  over  again  that  no  satisfactory 
rural  credits  plan  would  ever  have  been  evolved  but  for 
action  of  this  kind. 

Now,  the  difference  between  ordinary  methods  of  land 
transfer  in  America  and  the  Torrens  system  may  be  ex- 
plained very  briefly. 

Under  our  present  antiquated  system,  every  time  a  piece 
of  real  estate  changes  hands,  some  lawyer  must  examine 
into  the  legality  of  the  title.  Old  records,  running  back 
sometimes  for  hundreds  of  years,  must  be  searched  at  great 
labor  and  expense ;  and  the  next  time  the  property  is  sold, 
and  the  next,  and  the  next,  the  same  identical  work  must 
be  done  over  again,  and  other  big  lawyers'  fees  paid — 2i 
system  as  foolish  and  uneconomical  as  paying  a  man  to 
carry  a  brick  from  one  side  of  the  street  to  the  other  and 
back  again  and  again  interminably. 


52  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

Now  the  Torrens  system  proposes  that  instead  of  this 
perennial  investigation  of  the  same  thing,  this  unending, 
Sisyphus-Hke  job  of  rolHng  the  stone  uphill  and  then  letting 
it  roll  straightway  down  again,  and  all  to  no  purpose  save 
the  paying  of  unnecessary  fees  to  lawyers  who  might  better 
serve  their  fellows  in  some  other  way — instead  of  all  this, 
we  say,  the  Torrens  system  proposes  that  the  State  shall 
examine  the  title  once  for  all,  guarantee  it,  and  register  it,  so 
that  forever  afterward  it  may  be  transferred  almost  as  easily, 
quickly  and  cheaply  as  a  government  bond  or  a  share  of  stock 
in  an  incorporated  company.  The  original  cost  of  a  Torrens 
deed,  even  including  the  little  tax  for  the  guarantee  fund, 
would  hardly  exceed  the  present  cost  of  two  title  investi- 
gations; and  ever  after  the  farmer  would  be  able  to  transfer 
his  property  or  secure  loans  upon  it,  at  from  one-fourth  to 
one-twentieth  the  present  cost. 

The  Torrens  system  is  now  in  force  in  several  states  with 
good  results.  The  writer  has  personally  investigated  its 
satisfactory  operation  in  Massachusetts,  Minnesota,  Illinois, 
North  Carolina,  the  Philippines  and  Hawaii. 

As  for  the  technical  side  of  the  matter,  the  special  pro- 
cedure necessary  in  a  Torrens  title  case  has  been  very 
clearly  summarized  by  one  authority  as  follows : 

"The  owner  of  real  estate  makes  known  to  the  clerk  of  the  court  of 
the  county  or  city  in  which  the  real  estate  is  located  his  desire  to  have 
the  title  of  the  land  certified  and  registered.  Whereupon  the  clerk 
issues  a  summons,  running  in  the  name  of  the  State,  to  all  persons 
who  may  be  interested  in  the  real  estate  to  come  forward  and  protect 
their  rights  and  interests  therein,  if  any  they  can  show. 

"After  their  summons  has  run  due  length  of  time,  the  examiner  of 
titles  for  the  district  in  which  the  land  is  situate,  a  duly  appointed  pub- 
lic official,  takes  the  petition,  goes  to  the  records  and  makes  careful  and 
exhaustive  investigation.  Upon  completion  of  the  investigation,  he 
makes  report  to  the  judge.  Whereupon  the  judge  sets  a  day  for  hear- 
ing and  all  parties  claiming  an  interest  in  the  title  under  investigation 
are  notified  to  appear  in  court  and  set  forth  the  nature  and  extent  of 
their  claims. 

"The  title  having  been  established  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  court, 
a  decree  is  handed  down  certifying  that  the  petitioner  has  title  in  fee 


RURAL    CREDITS   AND   CO-OPERATION  53 

in  the  land  in  question,  the  boundaries  of  which  are  registered,  and  an 
order  is  entered  directing  the  clerk  to  make  an  entry  of  the  title  upon 
a  book  set  apart  for  the  purpose,  as  a  registered  title  secured  by  the 
guarantee  of  the  State. 

"Thereafter  for  all  time  the  certificate  of  registration  stands  as  a 
guarantee  of  the  soundness  of  the  title  no  matter  how  often  the  land 
may  change  hands  or  how  much  it  may  be  sub-divided :  no  further  ex- 
amination of  the  title,  with  the  always  greater  or  less  expense  attach- 
ing thereto,  is  ever  required." 

Ill 

It  must  never  be  forgotten,  however,  that  enabling  land- 
owning farmers  to  borrow  money  on  their  real  estate  solves 
only  one  form  of  the  rural  credits  disease.  There  are  three 
other  highly  important  phases  of  the  problem,  as  follows: 

1.  Provision  must  be  made  for  lending  money  for  short  time  on 
personal  credits. 

2.  Provision  must  be  made  for  helping  worthy  tenants  or  settlers 
buy  land. 

3.  Provision  must  be  made  for  encouraging  and  accumulating  farm- 
ers' savings  to  be  lent  out  to  other  farmers. 

In  most  sections  of  the  country  probably  the  best  thing 
a  modern  system  of  rural  credits  could  do  for  us  would  be 
to  provide  a  means  of  escape  from  the  supply  merchant's 
ruinous  "time  prices."  For  the  fact  is  that  as  a  general 
rule  it  has  not  been  the  paying  of  6  or  8  per  cent  interest 
on  debts  that  has  caused  farmers  to  lose  their  homes,  but 
paying  from  lo  to  40  per  cent  as  extra  charge  for  "time 
prices"  on  supplies. 

Mr.  J.  Z.  Green,  one  of  the  best  known  Farmers'  Union 
organizers  in  the  South,  points  out  how  our  farmers  furnish 
rope  to  hang  themselves  with.  Here  is  the  process  as  he 
gives  it: 

"It  is  a  well-known  fact  that  a  large  per  cent  of  our  farmers  do  not 
know  what  to  do  with  surplus  money  when  they  happen  to  get  a  little 
ahead.     So  they  deposit  it  in  the  banks  at  4  per  cent.    The  banks  in 


54  HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

turn  lend  it  to  the  time  merchants,  and  the  time  merchants,  being  law- 
abiding  citizens,  refuse  to  lend  it  to  less  fortunate  farmers  in  violation 
of  the  6-per-cent-interest  law,  but  invest  it  in  groceries  and  then  lend 
the  groceries  to  the  needy  customer  at  the  moderate  rate  of  from  30  to 
50  per  cent  interest.  Beautiful  system,  isn't  it?— for  the  time  merchant. 
Under  this  'system'  the  few  farmers  who,  by  denying  their  families  of 
many  comforts,  and  conveniences  of  life,  manage  to  acquire  a  little 
cash  surplus,  immediately  turn  it  over  to  the  time  merchant  to  capital- 
ize his  private  money-making  business." 

The  remedy,  of  course,  is  for  farmers  to  stop  getting  4 
per  cent  to  the  hurt  of  their  neighbors,  and  begin  getting 
6  per  cent  to  the  help  of  their  neighbors.  Without  adopting 
the  "unHmited  Hability"  feature  of  the  Raiffeisen  system  of 
Europe,  farmers  can  form  co-operative  societies  along  very 
simple  lines,  as  for  example : 

1.  Ten  or  more  farmers  can  take  stock  with  shares  at  $25 
each — totaling  say  $500  or  $1,000  or  $2,000  in  all. 

2.  Let  the  money  be  lent  to  members  at  legal  interest 
rates  for  productive  purposes  only — the  judicious  pur- 
chases of  live  stock,  fertilizers,  or  machinery,  for  example,  or 
some  other  useful  purpose. 

3.  Require  the  borrower  to  give  security  worth  twice  the 
loan,  or  to  be  indorsed  by  two  members  with  satisfactory 
property — or  both. 

4.  Limit  the  amount  that  can  be  lent  to  any  one  farmer 
to  $50,  $100  or  $200,  as  may  seem  best. 

Or,  perhaps  the  credit  union  may  take  the  form  of  a  rural 
building  and  loan  association  or  "land  and  loan  associa- 
tion." In  any  case,  the  rural  credit  organization  must  not 
ignore  the  fact  that  the  rural  credits  problem  is  not  wholly  a 
matter  of  helping  the  farmer  get  money.  Helping  him  save 
money  is  another  big  matter.  Habits  of  thrift  and  economy 
must  be  encouraged,  as  Mr.  Bradford  Knapp  is  always  and 
wisely  urging.  Consider,  for  example,  the  Raiffeisen  banks 
in  Europe — the  little  credit  societies  in  which  farmers  have 
deposited  $10,  $25,  $50  or  $100  each  to  be  re-lent  to  mem- 
bers: they  have  probably  helped  the  farmer  as  much  by 


RURAL    CREDITS   AND    CO-OPERATION  55 

\  giving  him  a  start  toward  financial  independence  through 
i  saving  as  in  delivering  him  from  "time  prices"  bondage  by 
I      lending  to  him. 

Whatever  is  done  with  regard  to  loans  on  land,  therefore,  we 
'      must  work  out  some  system  for  encouraging  and  pooling 

the  farmers'  savings  and  using  these  savings  to  build  up 

farm  life. 


CHAPTER  V 

WHY  I  BELIEVE  IN  THE  FARMERS'  UNION, 

GRANGE,  ETC. 

^'Dangers"  in  Farmers'  Organizations — But  in  No  Other  Way 
Can  We  Develop  New  Rural  Civilisation — Unions  Favor 
Both  Scientific  Farming  and  Scientific  Marketing — The 
Grange  and  Society  of  Equity  Approved 

YOU  ought  not  to  have  anything  to  do  with  the 
Farmers'  Union,"  said  a  prudent,  far-seeing  busi- 
ness friend  to  me  some  time  ago.  "The  Union  will 
get  mixed  up  with  politics  or  will  go  after  some 
impracticable  schemes  or  will  die  out  like  the  alliance." 

For  once  I  confess  I  felt  a  little  vexed  with  my  friend; 
and  my  answer  ran  something  like  this:  'T  don't  know 
whether  it  is  prudent  financially  or  not.  Quite  likely  it 
is  not.  I  know  that  the  farmers  are  not  used  to  work- 
ing together.  I  know  that  they  are  likely  to  be  misled  at 
times.  I  know  they  may  sometimes  have  their  prejudices 
aroused  and  turn  down  their  truest  friends  at  the  behest  of 
some  demagogue.  I  know,  too,  that  being  untried  in  busi- 
ness, they  may  want  to  go  off  into  some  big,  alluring,  high- 
sounding  scheme  that  will  not  work,  instead  of  devoting 
themselves  to  neighborhood  co-operative  enterprises  and 
building  up  from  them. 

"I  know  all  this,"  I  continued,  "and  I  know  if  my  aim  were 
simply  to  make  money  we  might  well  let  the  Farmers'  Union 
go ;  or  simply  say  that  it  is  a  good  thing,  and  all  farmers  ought 
to  join,  etc.  But  I  cannot  be  content  with  any  such  attitude.  I 
am  fighting  not  merely  for  better  farmers  and  better  farm- 
ing methods,  but  for  a  new  rural  civilization.  It  is  not 
enough  to  help  our  farmers  make  more  money;  they  must 

66 


WHY  I  BELIEVE  IN   THE  FARMERS*  UNION,  GRANGE,  ETC.    57 

be  helped  to  a  new  economic  and  social  life.  And  to  ac- 
complish this  result  there  must  be  organization.  The 
farmers  must  meet  and  work  together,  I  don't  doubt  but 
that  they  will  make  many  mistakes.  We  all  do.  But  as  I 
see  it,  it  is  the  duty  of  every  farmer  and  every  man  who 
is  patriotic,  eligible  and  who  loves  our  farmer  folk  to  join 
the  strongest  farmers'  organization  in  his  section  and  help 
keep  it  from  making  mistakes  instead  of  standing  aside, 
predicting  disaster,  and  waiting  for  a  chance  to  say,  'I  told 
you  so !' " 

The  writer  speaks  with  such  enthusiasm  of  the  Farmers* 
Union  because  it  is  the  strongest  farmers'  organization 
in  the  South  and  Northwest.  Readers  in  the  New  Eng- 
land or  Middle  States  may  accomplish  as  much  through 
their  local  granges  or  societies  or  equity.  But  in  any  case 
we  see  many  advantages  in  having  a  local  farmers'  club 
linked  up  with  some  general  organization.  You  will  ac- 
complish more  and  your  influence  will  extend  farther.  If 
you  get  benefits  by  combining  individual  farmers  in  a  club, 
will  you  not  get  even  greater  benefits  from  combining  in- 
dividual clubs  into  a  general  federation? 


What  we  ought  to  aim  at  all  over  America  is  the  de- 
velopment of  a  great  rural  civilization  such  as  Sir  Horace 
Plunkett  has  wrought  out  in  Ireland,  and  such  as  others 
have  wrought  out  in  Denmark,  and  I  see  no  way  to  work 
out  such  a  great  rural  civilization,  no  way  to  have  such  a 
development  of  rural  education  and  rural  co-operation, 
except  through  the  organization  of  the  farmers.  "How 
shall  they  hear  without  a  preacher?"  There  are  ten  thou- 
sand co-operative  enterprises  that  should  be  established, 
but  the  first  thing  to  do  is  to  get  the  people  together  to 
discuss  their  advantages ;  if  we  can  get  the  people  to  meet- 
ing regularly  together  in  every  school  district  to  discuss 
co-operation  and  how  to  co-operate,  the  co-operation  itself 


58  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

will  surely  follow — co-operation  that  would  take  a  genera- 
tion longer  to  get  if  we  were  without  a  missionary  organ- 
ization to  start  with. 

And  we  are  fortunate  in  that  the  Union  has  learned  the 
lesson  taught  by  the  experience  of  other  farmers'  organ- 
izations. It  has  learned  the  great  folly  of  depending  upon 
political  or  governmental  help  instead  of  self-help  as  the 
way  out. 

Education  and  Co-operation — these  are  our  two  great 
needs !  This  must  be  our  motto  and  our  shibboleth.  The 
longer  I  live  the  more  I  honor  the  memory  of  old  Newt 
■Gresham  and  those  other  plain,  simple  farmers  who  formed 
the  first  Farmers'  Educational  and  Co-operative  Union 
away  out  on  the  Texas  plains  and  wrote  its  Declaration  of 
Purposes!  At  times  it  would  seem  as  if  they  acted  by 
direct  inspiration.  The  Farmers'  "Educational  and  Co- 
operative" Union,  they  called  it — called  it  so  to  forever 
emphasize  the  idea  that  education  and  co-operation,  these 
two  things  and  these  two  only,  should  be  the  supreme  aim 
of  the  organization.  And  at  every  local  Union  meeting 
and  at  every  county  Union  meeting,  it  seems  to  me,  the 
one  big  pre-eminent  question  should  be,  "What  can  we  do 
in  the  line  of  education  and  co-operation?  For  this  is  what 
we  are  here  for — for  education  and  co-operation  and  noth- 
ing else." 

"The  greatest  result  of  agricultural  co-operation  in  Ire- 
land," as  Sir  Horace  Plunkett  once  said  to  me,  "is  not  the 
profits  we  have  made,  but  the  fact  that  we  have  made 
business  men  of  farmers."  They  have  worked  out  a  new 
civilization — have  learned  to  believe  in  themselves  and  in 
their  neighbors,  have  learned  to  do  team  work,  have  gotten 
the  power  and  profits  of  united  effort ;  and  their  co-opera- 
tion in  business  is  making  them  capable  of  doing  anything 
and  meeting  any  situation  that  may  arise. 

And  the  great  secret  is  that  Irish  co-operation  has  begun 
at  home — as  it  must  always  begin  at  home  to  be  perma- 


WHY  I  BELIEVE   IN   THE  FARMERS'   UNION,  GRANGE,  ETC.    59 

nently  successful.  The  place  to  begin  co-operation  is  with 
your  next-door  neighbor.  Mr.  J.  R.  Rives  told  me  the 
other  day  of  two  neighbors  near  him  who  had  a  horse 
apiece  and  had  been  making  twenty  bushels  of  corn  per 
acre  with  hard  work  and  one-horse  tools.  Last  year  they 
joined  together,  bought  a  disk  plow  and  disk  harrow,  and 
plowed  and  harrowed  and  cultivated  as  never  before,  and 
made  forty  bushels  of  corn  per  acre.  That's  a  sample  of 
the  sort  of  co-operation  millions  of  our  farmers  need  to  do, 
co-operation  which  begins  at  home  and  helps  the  members 
of  one's  own  local. 

This  is  the  view  taken  by  the  North  Carolina  Farmers* 
Union,  the  strongest  State  Union  in  America,  in  a  notable 
new  step  which  we  believe  other  organizations  in  other 
states  will  do  well  to  emulate.  Nearly  $500  in  prizes  has 
been  offered  to  locals  that  make  themselves  leaders  in 
community  betterment,  as  follows : 

No.  1 — To  locals  making  best  report  of  work  done  by  them  for  de- 
velopment of  community  spirit  through  social  entertainments,  educa- 
tional rallies,  and  all  enterprises  calling  for  brotherhood  and  the  "get- 
together"  spirit,  a  first  prize  of  $50,  a  second  prize  of  $25,  and  two 
prizes  of  $10  each. 

No  2 — To  locals  reporting  best  system  of  co-operative  marketing 
of  products  raised  by  its  members,  a  first  prize  of  $50,  a  second  prize 
of  $25,  and  two  prizes  of  $10  each. 

No.  3 — To  locals  making  best  report  of  a  survey  of  educational, 
agricultural,  religious,  economic  and  social  conditions  of  the  com- 
munity, a  first  prize  of  $25  and  three  prizes  of  $10  each. 

No.  4 — To  locals  making  best  report  of  work  in  co-operative  pur- 
chase and  ownership  of  pure-bred  live  stock,  a  first  prize  of  $25,  and 
three  prizes  of  $10  each. 

No.  5 — To  locals  making  best  report  in  co-operative  ownership  of 
implements  and  machinery,  a  first  prize  of  $25,  and  three  prizes  of  $10 
each. 

No.  6 — To  locals  making  best  report  of  work  in  developing  the  read- 
ing habit  among  the  people  of  the  community,  through  libraries,  books, 
papers  and  education  of  adult  illiterates,  a  first  prize  of  $25,  and  three 
prizes  of  $10  each. 

No.  7 — To  locals  making  best  report  of  work  in  increasing  member- 
ship, increasing  interest  in  the  meetings,  and  the  general  usefulness  of 


60  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE  PROFITS 

the  local  to  its  members,  a  first  prize  of  $25,  and  three  prizes  of  $10 
each. 

A  special  certificate  of  honor  will  be  given  to  the  local 
in  each  county  that  makes  the  best  report  in  any  particular, 
whether  it  wins  a  prize  or  not. 

II 

Another  thing  I  like  about  those  wise  men  out  in  Texas 
who  formed  the  Farmers'  Union :  they  were  not  little,  nar- 
row, one-idea  men,  but  laid  a  broad  and  sound  foundation 
for  it  and  said  once  and  forever  in  its  "Declaration  of  Pur- 
poses" that  the  aim  of  the  Union  is  both  to  help  farmers  in 
marketing,  buying  and  selling,  and  also  "to  educate  the 
farming  classes  in  scientific  farming,"  "to  discourage  the 
credit  and  mortgage  system,"  and  "to  bring  farming  up  to 
the  standard  of  other  industries  and  business  enterprises." 

No  man  is  a  good  Union  man,  therefore,  who  says  there 
is  no  need  of  "educating  the  farming  classes  in  scientific 
farming,"  just  as  no  man  is  a  good  Union  man  who  says 
there  is  no  need  of  educating  them  in  scientific  marketing. 
The  Union  rightly  says  we  must  have  both.  We  have  been 
poor  despite  our  hard  work,  both  because  we  have  lacked 
"education  in  scientific  farming,"  and  also  the  advantages  of 
co-operation  and  marketing. 

Consider  this  fact,  for  example — that  our  farmers  in  the 
South  have  lived  under  the  same  general  government,  the 
same  general  marketing  and  economic  conditions,  as  the 
farmers  in  the  North  and  West.  And  yet  the  census 
figures  prove  that  chiefly  because  of  the  better  farming 
methods  in  the  North  the  average  North  Atlantic  States 
farmer  earned  in  1900  $984,  while  our  average  South  At- 
lantic States  farmer  earned  only  $484 — $500  a  year  less 
than  his  more  scientific  northern  brother;  and  at  the  same 
time  the  average  North  Central  States  farmer  earned  $1,074, 
while  our  average  Southern  Central  States  farmer  earned 


WHY  I  BELIEVE  IN  THE  FARMERS*  UNION,  GRANGE,  ETC.   61 

only  $536 — $538  a  year  less  than  the  more  scientific  north- 
ern farmer. 

On  the  whole,  I  insist  that  the  average  southern  farmer 
can  make  $500  more  a  year  by  better  farming  methods  and 
$500  more  a  year  by  better  methods  of  co-operation  and 
marketing — and  what  I  want  us  to  do  is  to  get  both  $500 
gains.  An  extra  $1,000  a  year  per  farm  is  what  we  must 
have  to  build  up  a  great  rural  civilization  in  the  South. 

And  instead  of  the  man  who  is  trying  to  get  the  extra 
$500  by  co-operation  and  marketing  throwing  stones  at  the 
man  who  is  trying  to  get  the  extra  $500  by  better  farming, 
let  them  work  together.  That's  what  the  Farmers'  Union 
says,  and  it  is  the  policy  all  farmers  should  fight  for. 

To  make  my  meaning  clearer,  let  me  give  another  illus- 
tration. Cotton  manufacturing  is  like  farming,  in  that  in 
both  industries  there  are  continual  improvements  in 
methods,  in  machinery,  and  in  marketing.  Now  suppose 
a  southern  cotton  manufacturer  were  losing  money  and 
should  join  with  his  brother  manufacturers  to  market  his 
goods  co-operatively.  That  would  mean  more  profit,  no 
doubt,  and  would  be  a  wise  move,  just  as  it  is  a  wise  move 
for  our  farmers.  But  suppose  this  same  manufacturer  kept 
on  using  out-of-date  machinery,  unscientific  methods,  an 
uneconomical  system  of  production,  while  northern  manu- 
facturers kept  on  improving  their  methods,  using  better 
implements  and  machinery,  etc.,  etc.  And  suppose  his 
manufacturing  paper  kept  on  telling  this  southern  manu- 
facturer of  improved  scientific  methods  of  production,  of 
labor-saving  implements  and  machinery  that  other  manu- 
facturers were  using,  and  kept  saying  to  him,  "We  must 
use  as  good  methods  as  northern  and  western  manufac- 
turers use  or  we  will  be  put  out  of  business."  But  suppose 
he  should  then  say,  'T  am  going  to  stop  reading  that  paper. 
I  am  tired  of  so  much  teaching  about  better  methods  of 
manufacturing.  All  I  want  is  a  new  marketing  plan.  I 
can  use  the  same  sort  of  manufacturing  methods  my  grand- 


62  HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND    DOUBLE   PROFITS 

father  used."  The  best  system  of  marketing  on  earth 
wouldn't  save  that  manufacturer  from  bankruptcy,  poverty 
and  ruin. 

It's  the  same  way  with  our  southern  farmers.  They 
may  adopt  the  best  marketing  system  on  earth,  but  they 
must  also  do  better  farming  or  lose  out  in  competition  with 
other  sections.  And  American  farmers  must  adopt  the 
best  methods  or  lose  out  in  competition  with  the  educated, 
alert  farmers  of  foreign  countries.  We  sometimes  seem  to 
fall  into  the  foolish  notion  that  farmers  in  our  immediate 
section  are  the  only  ones  there  are  on  earth.  The  truth  is, 
that  the  locomotive  and  the  steamship  make  us  competi- 
tors with  farmers  all  over  the  world.  A  man  can  get  plenty 
of  labor  in  India  to  work  cotton  at  lo  to  15  cents  a  day, 
and  our  southern  cotton  must  compete  with  Indian  cotton. 
In  food  and  feed  crops,  we  must  compete  with  the  wide- 
awake farmers  in  Europe  and  Canada.  In  growing  cattle, 
we  must  compete  with  farmers  in  South  America — and  it 
is  said  that  next  year  South  America  will  even  send  corn  to 
the  United  States. 

Moreover,  we  in  the  South  also  have  to  consider  another 
big  fact  that  cannot  be  too  strongly  emphasized.  This  is 
that  we  can  never,  never  market  cotton  or  tobacco  effec- 
tively until  we  get  better  farming,  so  farmers  can  grow 
their  own  corn  and  feed  and  so  escape  the  mortgage  and 
credit  system.  For  it  is  an  admitted  fact  that  the  system 
of  buying  supplies  now  throws  our  staple  crops  pell-mell 
on  every  autumn  market,  and  ruins  every  attempt  at  regu- 
lated, systematical,  scientific  selling  of  these  crops. 

Better  farming,  therefore,  will  help  us  get  better  mar- 
keting, and  both  plans  must  go  along  together,  as  the 
Farmers'  Union  founders  so  wisely  foresaw. 


CHAPTER  VI 

SOME  FARMERS'  CLUBS  I  HAVE  KNOWN,  AND 

THEIR  WORK 

First,  Co-operative  Ownership  of  Threshers,  Manure  Spread- 
ers, Mowers,  Stalk  Cutters,  etc. — Co-operation  in  Marketing 
Cotton  Seed — A  Clover  Huller  Success — A  Club  That  Owns 
a  Registered  Bull — Last  and  Best  of  All,  Co-operative 
Produce  Marketing 

LET  me  give  a  few  examples  of  what  some  farmers'' 
clubs  I  know  are  doing.     To  begin  with,  here  is  a 
^   letter  from  the  secretary  of  a  local  farmers'  union 
in  a  neighborhood  I  visited  recently,  which  shows 
exactly  what  ten  thousand  farmers'  clubs  and  ten  thousand 
rural  neighborhoods  all  over  the  country  ought  to  be  doing 
all  the  time.     This  is  what  the  secretary  wrote  me : 

"Broadway  Union,  No.  1089,  has  twenty-three  members,  and  we 
have  been  doing  things  this  year.  We  have  bought  for  cash  $1,850 
worth  of  fertiUzers,  a  threshing  outfit  at  a  cost  of  $750,  lime  and  fer- 
tilizer distributor,  and  have  bought  together  what  grain  we  had  to  buy. 

"We  have  a  progressive  neighborhood  and  our  people  believe  in 
co-operation.  For  instance,  two  of  our  members  own  a  manure 
spreader  and  two  other  members  own  a  wheat  drill.  They  all  four 
use  the  two  machines.  Therefore  each  man  gets  the  use  of  these  two 
machines  at  one- fourth  the  cost  of  each  man  owning  a  separate  ma- 
chine— and  if  taken  care  of,  a  machine  will  last  just  as  long  with  four 
using  it  as  one,  for  the  less  a  machine  is  used,  the  more  it  will  rust. 

"We  have  several  binders  in  our  local,  each  owned  by  two  or  more 
individuals,  and  several  mowers  and  rakes  owned  the  same  way.  Five 
own  a  stalk  cutter,  and  five  own  a  steel  roller.  Our  neighborhood  is 
thickly  settled,  and  it  is  almost  as  convenient  to  own  such  machines  in. 
co-operation,  as  mentioned,  as  to  own  them  separately,  and  a  good  deal 
more  convenient  to  our  pocketbooks  sometimes !" 

This  practical  test  of  co-operation  in  the  purchase  of 

63 


64  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

improved  farm  machinery  is  better  worth  attention  than 
any  theoretical  argument  against  the  workableness  of  the 
idea,  such  as  one  of  my  friends  recently  put  forth.  Of 
course,  there  should  be  a  definite  understanding  in  the  very 
beginning  as  to  the  rules  which  will  be  observed  by  the 
joint  owners,  and  these  rules  should  be  set  down  in  writing. 
For  example,  it  should  be  prescribed; 

(i)  That  the  machine  should  be  kept  under  cover  when 
not  in  use. 

(2)  That  a  member  should  pay  for  any  breakage  occur- 
ring while  in  his  care.  Of  course,  if  a  broken  part  was  par- 
tially worn  out  when  the  member  took  it,  he  should  pay 
only  the  depreciated  value  of  the  portion  broken. 

(3)  That  in  case  more  than  one  member  should  wish  the 
use  of  a  machine  at  a  time,  members  shall  take  first  choice 
in  rotation.  Suppose,  for  example,  there  are  four  members. 
The  simplest  and  most  easily  remembered  plan  is  to  let  the 
man  who  has  first  choice  in  the  beginning  have  second 
choice  the  second  time,  third  choice  the  third  time,  fourth 
choice  the  fourth  time,  while  the  fifth  time  he  would  begin 
first  again  and  repeat  as  just  indicated.  The  plan  would 
give  all  an  absolutely  equal  deal  in  the  long  run,  each  man 
having  exactly  the  same  number  of  first,  second,  third  and 
fourth  choices  as  follows: 

xTA»;r,r«T,^AT,i>,r.T,  / ^^^   CHOICE  ON   EACH   OCCASION ,^ 

NAME  OF  FARMER  First  time     Second  time     Third  time    Fourth  time 

Farmer  A 1st  2d  3d  4th 

Farmer  B 2d  3d  4th  1st 

Farmer  C 3d  4th  1st  2d 

Farmer  D 4th  1st  2d  3d 

In  the  next  place,  a  good  example  of  how  collective  mar- 
keting of  produce  pays  is  afforded  by  the  Mecklenburg 
County,  N.  C,  Farmers'  Union.  Up  to  five  years  ago  the 
farmers  had  received  only  1,400  pounds  of  meal  in  ex- 
change for  each  ton  of  seed.  The  Union  farmers  then  voted 
to  hold  their  seed  and  to  put  them  back  in  the  ground  if  the 


SOME  farmers'  clubs  I  HAVE  KNOWN,  AND  THEIR  WORK   65 

mills  would  not  give  them  a  "ton  of  meal  for  a  ton  of  seed." 
The  non-Union  farmers  decided  they  would  get  some  of 
the  benefits  the  Union  held  out  for  them,  and  began  hold- 
ing, too.  The  result  was  that  in  about  two  months'  time 
the   mills  surrendered   to   the   farmers'   demands. 

This  plan  held  good  for  two  years,  but  at  last  the 
mills  took  advantage  of  the  farmers'  indifference  and  re- 
duced to  i,8oo  pounds  the  quantity  of  meal  they  would 
give  in  exchange  for  a  ton  of  seed. 

Thereupon,  however,  the  farmers  revolted  again,  and 
planned  an  even  more  effective  pooling  arrangement  than 
before.  The  Union  members  began  consigning  their  seed 
to  their  county  business  agent  and  he  very  quickly  ob- 
tained terms  of  even  exchange — "a.  ton  of  meal  for  a  ton  of 
seed" — from  the  Mecklenburg  mills. 

Another  fine  illustration  of  how  the  members  of  a  local 
club  can  work  together  came  to  light  when  I  was  on  a 
visit  to  my  old  home  county  a  short  time  ago. 

Seeing  that  clover  seed  were  so  high,  and  that  the  land 
needed  clover  so  badly,  a  group  of  farmers  there  got  to- 
gether and  subscribed  $500 — fifty  shares  at  $10  each — to 
buy  a  clover  huller.  Then  at  the  right  season  they  hired 
a  traction  engine  to  take  it  from  place  to  place  (just  as 
they  would  a  wheat  thresher),  and  set  it  up  at  some  man's 
barn  staying  two  or  three  days  and  doing  the  work  for 
him  and  all  his  clover-growing  neighbors.  They  charged 
four  cents  a  pound  for  hulling  crimson  clover,  and  five 
cents  a  pound  for  red,  making  it  cost  $2.40  a  bushel  to  hull 
the  crimson  clover  seed  and  $3  the  red — not  a  big  charge  in 
view  of  the  fact  that  crimson  clover  seed  were  then  selling 
at  the  neighboring  store  at  $10  a  bushel  and  the  red  at  $18 
to  $20.  One  farmer  took  over  his  crop  to  be  hulled,  say- 
ing, "I  reckon  this  pile  ought  to  hull  me  out  a  bushel  of 
seed,  and  that's  $3,"  and  found  instead  that  he  had  six 
bushels  and  his  bill  was  $18!  At  first  he  felt  like  he  was 
bankrupted  until  he  recalled  that  he  could  sell  his  product 
for  about  $100! 


66  HOW  FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS  J 

Now  all  sorts  of  good  results  have  followed  this  experi- 
ment in  co-operation.  Best  of  all,  all  the  farmers  round 
about  are  growing  clover  as  never  before,  and  last  spring 
it  was  a  joy  to  ride  over  beautiful  fields  knee  deep  in  clover 
where  they  were  formerly  bleak  and  barren.  But  more 
than  that  the  scheme  paid — paid  like  a  gold  mine.  When 
the  managers  wound  up  the  season's  business,  they  found 
they  had  paid  all  expenses  and  had  a  handsome  dividend 
for  every  stockholder.  In  fact,  the  profits  were  so  good 
that  this  year  the  price  of  hulling  will  be  reduced. 

When  away  over  in  the  Blue  Ridge  Mountains  a  few 
weeks  ago  the  news  that  came  to  me  as  to  the  activities 
of  the  local  Union  there  was  that  its  members  had  joined 
together  and  bought  a  pure-bred  bull.  Now,  if  other  locals 
in  the  same  county  will  go  a  step  together  and  add  the 
co-operation  of  groups  of  farmers  to  the  co-operation  of 
individual  farmers,  the  problem  will  be  solved.  Only  re- 
cently we  came  across  a  farmer's  complaint  to  the  effect 
that  farm  papers  are  always  telling  farmers  to  get  pure- 
bred cattle,  whereas  he  said  nine-tenths  of  them  are  too 
poor  to  buy  the  high-priced  sires.  But  the  remedy,  as  Mr. 
H.  W.  Collingwood  pointed  out  to  the  farmer-critic,  lies 
in  the  co-operative  breeding  associations  so  popular  in 
Europe : 

"Half  a  dozen  neighbors  combine  and  buy  a  good  bull.  The  cost  to  each 
one  is  not  large,  and  the  bull  can  be  used  in  several  herds.  This  works 
out  well  in  parts  of  Wisconsin.  After  the  bull  has  been  used  three 
years  there  will  be  found  another  community  ready  to  change,  so  that 
new  blood  can  be  used.  In  this  way  and  through  this  form  of  co- 
operation farmers  who  could  not  afford  to  buy  a  first-class  bull  alone 
may  combine  and  thus  obtain  the  best.  This  is  no  dream  or  theory — 
it  is  being  worked  out  in  many  communities  where  farmers  have 
learned  to  combine  their  efforts  and  live  and  let  live.  It  is  just  an- 
other illustration  of  the  fact  that  poor,  individual  farmers  may  find 
some  relief  from  their  hard  necessities  by  co-operation." 

The  writer  is  also  a  stockholder  in  a  very  interesting 
farmers'  marketing  association  promoted  by  a  local  club. 


SOME  farmers'  clubs  I  HAVE  KNOWN,  AND  THEIR  WORK  67 

The  whole  plan,  in  fact,  of  this  particular  marketing  as- 
sociation seems  to  me  to  deserve  the  most  careful  con- 
sideration of  farmers  everywhere.  The  movement  had  its 
origin  when  a  group  of  farmers,  being  much  disadvantaged 
in  marketing  their  produce,  got  together  and  agreed  on  an 
experimental  form  of  co-operative  marketing.  The  plan  in 
brief  was  this : 

1.  One  member  was  employed  (with  his  team)  to  take 
the  produce  of  all  members  to  town  twice  a  week. 

2.  Three  central  concentration  points  along  the  route 
(homes  of  members)  were  agreed  upon,  say  about  two 
miles  apart,  at  which  the  farmer  members  were  to  collect 
their  stuff.  In  applying  this  principle,  we  will  suppose, 
for  example,  that  there  is  a  group  of  farmers  along  a  mar- 
ket route  running  from  three  to  nine  miles  from  the  town. 
Well,  the  farmers  will  agree  to  have  three  central  stations 
— one  eight,  one  six,  and  one  four  miles  from  the  market. 
The  night  before  the  selling  agent  is  to  make  his  trip  to 
market  each  farmer  will  take  whatever  he  has  to  sell  to 
the  nearest  concentration  or  collection  point. 

3.  For  this  service  the  selling  agent  was  paid  a  commis- 
sion of  15  per  cent  on  all  sales. 

Now,  let  us  see  how  this  plan  worked.  It  naturally  had 
three  important  results. 

First  of  all,  the  farmers  got  their  stuff  on  the  market  for 
half  the  former  cost.  Previously,  if  a  farmer  had  a  dozen 
cabbage,  or  a  couple  of  hams,  or  half  a  dozen  chickens, 
or  two  dozen  eggs,  he  had  to  make  the  trip  himself  or 
send  a  hand  in  order  to  effect  a  sale.  The  cost  of  market- 
ing might  absorb  all  the  profits  of  the  sale.  Certainly  the 
cost  of  marketing  under  this  method  was  not  half  the 
average  cost  under  the  old  individual  method  of  marketing;  I 
suspect  that  one-third  would  be  a  more  accurate  estimate. 

In  the  second  place,  farmers  marketed  much  stuff  that 
would  never  have  been  marketed  at  all  with  the  policy  of 
having  every  farmer  act  as  his  own  salesman — could  never 
have  been  profitably  marketed  at  all.     For  example,  for- 


68  HOW  FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

merly  a  farmer  might  have  had  a  bushel  of  peas,  or  three 
dozen  tomatoes,  or  a  half  bushel  of  lima  beans.  He  would 
naturally  have  said,  "I  can't  make  a  trip  to  town  just  to 
take  them,"  and  thus  would  have  left  this  surplus  product 
to  rot;  whereas  under  the  plan  we  are  considering  he 
could  easily  have  sent  it  a  mile  to  the  nearest  collection 
station  for  the  selling  agent  to  market  next  day.  So  the 
co-operative  marketing  plan  not  only  cuts  the  cost  of  mar- 
keting in  half,  but  it  converts  into  money  many  surplus 
products  on  the  farm  that  would,  in  fact,  never  be  marketed 
at  all  under  other  conditions. 

In  the  third  place,  the  selling  agent  being  employed  for 
a  large  part  of  his  time  and  marketing  a  great  variety  of 
stuff,  naturally  keeps  up  with  prices  as  it  is  impossible  for 
the  individual  farmer  to  do.  Go  into  your  nearest  city 
tomorrow  and  you  may  find  farmers  selling  eggs  or 
chickens  or  apples  at  half  a  dozen  different  prices.  The 
farmer  who  has  only  a  dollar's  worth  or  so  of  produce 
cannot  take  time  to  find  out  the  real  market  value  of  the 
product,  but  a  regular  selling  agent  can. 

Moreover,  the  selling  agent,  because  he  makes  regular 
trips  and  has  fresher  stuff,  can  easily  develop  a  regular  line 
of  customers  as  the  individual  farmer  could  not;  and, 
finally,  the  selling  agent  can,  in  a  measure,  grade  his  prod- 
ucts himself  (with  certain  handicaps  owing  to  variety  of 
ownership),  and  can  easily  teach  his  patrons  the  value  of 
grading. 

This  plan  as  tested  out  a  year  ago  had  such  advantages 
that  a  larger  and  better  system  is  now  being  developed. 
Instead  of  having  one  of  the  members  give  two  days  a 
week  to  the  work,  a  man  is  to  be  employed  to  give  all  his 
time  to  it.  A  co-operative  stock  company  (with  dividends 
payable  on  patronage)  has  been  organized  and  the  further 
details  may  be  quoted  from  the  following  official  circular 
setting  forth  the  plan  of  organization : 


SOME  farmers'  clubs  I  HAVE  KNOWN,  AND  THEIR  WORK  69 

"The  necessary  stock  having  been  subscribed,  the  stockholders 
would  meet  and  effect  a  permanent  organization  by  electing  such 
officers  as  would  be  needed  for  conducting  the  business — President, 
Vice-President,  Secretary,  Treasurer  and  a  Board  of  Directors.  The 
Board  of  Directors  would  elect  a  Manager,  who  would  conduct  the 
business  under  their  direction.  The  Board  of  Directors  would  define 
the  Manager's  duties  and  pass  on  all  operating  expenses  before  being 
paid. 

"The  Board  of  Directors  should  rent  a  storeroom  or  warehouse  at 
the  basing  point,  where  the  Manager  could  have  an  office  and  ample 
room  for  storage  and  handling  the  business.  They  should  employ  a 
competent  man  for  his  full  time  to  collect  and  market  the  produce  for 
the  members. 

"Ample  equipment  should  be  provided  by  the  Board  of  Directors 
for  carrying  on  the  business  and  should  consist  of  spring  wagon, 
harness,  auto  wagon,  etc.,  for  collecting  the  products  on  the  routes, 
and  for  marketing  these  products  as  rapidly  as  possible. 

"Also  refrigerator  butter  crates,  milk  cans,  etc.,  needed  for  han- 
dling perishable  goods  in  warm  weather,  also  whatever  office  fixtures 
necessary  for  keeping  accounts,  etc. 

"Routes  should  be  established  from  the  basing  point  covering  the 
territory  where  the  patrons  reside,  and  should  go  to  or  near  their 
homes.  These  routes  can  be  provided  to  serve  the  territory  north, 
east,  south  and  west  of  Harrisburg.  Collections  and  marketing  can 
be  done  on  alternate  days,  making  one  collection  a  week  on  each 
route,  and  marketing  three  days  each  week. 

"After  all  expenses,  including  salaries,  interest,  rents,  incidental 
expenses,  etc.,  have  been  paid  from  the  profits,  and  there  is  still  a 
surplus  on  hand,  it  should  be  pro-rated  among  the  patrons  according 
to  the  amount  of  products  they  have  furnished  the  association.  Mr. 
A.  furnishes  twice  the  value  of  products  as  Mr.  B.,  therefore  he  shares 
twice  as  great  in  the  division  of  this  extra  profit. 

How  Patrons  Are  Paid  for  Products 

"The  collector  will  give  each  patron  a  ticket  for  whatever  products 
he  collects  from  him  each  trip,  and  take  a  duplicate  ticket  back  to  the 
office.  The  Manager  keeps  an  itemized  account  for  each  patron,  every 
two  weeks  he  sends  his  patrons  cash  or  check  for  the  products  fur- 
nished the  association  for  the  two-week  period  preceding.  The  patron 
having  his  tickets  given  him  by  the  collector,  can  at  a  glance  tell 
whether  his  pay  is  correct  or  not.  Any  mistake  can  easily  be  detected 
and  rectified  at  once." 


CHAPTER  VII 

HOW  TO  ORGANIZE  A  CO-OPERATIVE  SOCIETY 

Thirteen  Principles  of  Successful  Co-operation  That  Should 
Never  Be  Ignored — How  to  Get  a  Charter — A  General 
Form  of  By-Laws  Which  May  Be  Varied  to  Suit  Local 
Needs 

THE  writer  is  constantly  receiving  requests  as  to 
how  to  organize  a  co-operative  society,  how  such 
a  company  should  be  incorporated,  and  what 
should  be  the  form  of  by-laws,  etc.  There  are 
undoubtedly  many  communities  where  farmers  would  like 
to  start  some  co-operative  effort,  but  they  delay  the  mat- 
ter a  great  while,  or  indefinitely,  simply  because  no  pro- 
spective member  has  had  any  experience  in  organizing  or 
incorporating  a  company.  They  merely  lack  information 
as  to  how  to  begin. 

Perhaps  in  the  very  beginning  we  should  call  attention 
to  some  fundamental  rules  that  should  be  accepted  in  form- 
ing a  co-operative  society  (rules  based  on  the  long  and 
varied  experience  of  great  numbers  of  co-operative  groups), 
unless  clearly  unsuited  to  local  conditions.  This  statement 
of  the  fundamental  principles  of  co-operation,  which  orig- 
inated in  slightly  different  form  with  the  Right  Relation- 
ship League,  I  believe,  is  as  follows : 

1.  That  each  shareholder  shall  have  only  one  vote,  regardless  of  the 
number  of  shares  held.     No  proxy  voting  shall  be  allowed. 

2.  That  shares  shall  be  of  low  denomination  ($10  or  $5  being  com- 
mon figures)  and  may  be  paid  in  small  installments,  if  necessary. 

3.  That  the  association  may  have  the  prior  right  to  purchase  shares 
■when  the  owner  wishes  to  sell. 

4.  That  all  goods  and  produce  shall  be  bought  and  sold  on  the  cash 
system  and  at  prevailing  prices.    Cutting  prices  is  discouraged. 

70 


HOW   TO   ORGANIZE   A   CO-OPERATIVE    SOCIETY  71 

5.  That  before  paying  dividends  a  sufficient  amount  shall  be  al- 
lowed for  the  depreciation  of  stock,  fixtures  and  buildings. 

6.  That  a  small  surplus  may  be  set  aside  for  enlargement,  or  as  a 
reserve  for  a  less  prosperous  season. 

7.  That  a  small  amount,  say  2  per  cent  of  net  profits,  may  be  set 
aside  for  educational  purposes  to  promote  a  better  understanding  of 
the  cardinal  principles  of  co-operation,  its  ethical  and  economical  bene- 
fits, etc. 

8.  That  capital  stock  shall  be  paid  a  certain  fixed  and  reasonable 
rate  of  interest,  usually  only  the  legal  rate. 

9.  That  the  remaining  profits  shall  be  divided  among  the  members 
and  customers  in  proportion  to  their  patronage. 

10.  That  one-half  as  much  dividends  shall  be  paid  to  non-members 
as  to  members  on  patronage. 

11.  That  the  door  shall  not  be  shut  in  the  face  of  any  eligible  and 
worthy  applicant  for  membership.  No  matter  if  you  have  become  too 
prosperous  to  really  need  further  stockholders,  he  should  have  the 
right  to  purchase  one  share  of  stock  and  become  a  member.  This  is 
true  brotherhood. 

12.  Except  in  rare  cases,  a  new  co-operative  enterprise,  whether 
store,  creamery,  warehouse,  elevator,  cannery  or  what  not,  should  not 
be  started  in  a  community  where  enough  such  enterprises  already  exist 
to  serve  the  people  amply.  Instead,  the  prospective  co-operators  should 
bide  their  time  and  buy  out  some  existing  enterprise  when  the  owners 
are  willing  to  sell  at  a  reasonable  price. 

13.  All  agreements,  contracts,  understandings,  etc.,  should  be  put 
into  writing,  and  in  case  of  disagreement  at  any  time  the  matter  should 
be  settled  by  arbitration,  each  side  selecting  an  arbitrator  and  these 
two  arbitrators  agreeing  on  a  third  man  to  act  with  them. 

And  now  as  to  getting  your  organization  into  legal  shape. 
Of  course,  there  are  many  general  lines  of  co-operation, 
such  as  the  buying  of  supplies  without  a  store  or  ware- 
house, or  the  selling  of  farm  products  on  a  small  scale, 
which  can  usually  be  safely  carried  on  without  incorporat- 
ing a  company.  If  you  are  going  to  undertake  any  really 
important  line  of  co-operation,  however,  the  first  thing  to 
do  is  to  get  a  meeting  of  interested  persons,  name  a  tem- 
porary chairman  and  secretary,  and  proceed  with  discus- 
sion to  ascertain  if  it  is  advisable  to  go  into  the  proposed 
business,  and  if  so,  then  the  advisability  of  incorporating 
as  a  regular  company. 


72  HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

At  this  point  we  cannot  do  better  than  to  quote  the 
language  of  Professor  Camp,  now  chief  of  the  marketing 
division  of  the  North  Carolina  Experiment  Station,  whose 
previous  experience  in  California,  Illinois  and  Missouri  has 
given  him  a  wide  outlook,  with  whom  the  writer  has  made 
some  of  the  investigations  recorded  in  this  book,  and  whose 
aid  we  have  sought  in  the  preparation  of  this  chapter: 

"The  advantages  of  incorporating  a  co-operative  associa- 
tion should  then  be  discussed,"  Professor  Camp  says.  "It 
should  be  made  clear  that  incorporation  means  that  the 
members  will  not  be  liable  for  the  debts  of  the  association 
beyond  the  amount  of  the  subscribed  capital.  Before 
finally  deciding  to  incorporate,  three  or  more  should  be 
appointed  on  a  committee  to  canvass  the  section  to  see  if 
a  sufficient  number  are  interested  in  becoming  stockhold- 
ers to  warrant  the  formation  of  an  incorporated  associa- 
tion. The  same  committee  should  gather  information  as  to 
the  probable  amount  of  business  that  may  be  done  and  as  to 
the  probable  cost  per  unit  of  business  transacted.  When 
the  committee  is  ready  to  report  a  second  meeting  should 
be  called.  All  of  those  especially  interested  should  be  in- 
vited to  attend.  If  the  committee  reports  that  the  number 
of  those  who  may  be  expected  to  subscribe  is  ample  and 
the  business  in  prospect  is  sufficient,  application  should  be 
made  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  a  blank  certificate  of 
incorporation.  This  blank  must  be  filled  out  in  order  to 
secure  a  charter  for  doing  business  as  a  corporation. 

"In  filling  out  this  blank,  it  is  well  to  make  the  expressed 
objects  for  the  formation  of  your  organization  sufficiently 
broad  to  include  any  possible  line  of  business  which  you 
may  at  any  time  later  wish  to  undertake.  You  will  then 
be  able  to  buy  or  sell  or  manufacture  any  products  which 
may  later  seem  advisable  without  going  to  the  expense  of 
getting  a  new  charter. 

"The  certificate  of  incorporation  of  the  United  Fruit 
Growers  of  Western  North  Carolina,  North  Wilkesboro, 
N.   C,  has  a  broad  statement  of  the  objects  of  a  fruit 


HOW   TO   ORGANIZE  A   CO-OPERATIVE   SOCIETY  73 

growers'  corporation,  which  may  be  taken  as  a  good  ex- 
ample for  farmers  in  other  lines.  The  objects  for  which 
this  corporation  is  formed  are  stated  as  follows: 

"  'To  buy  and  sell  fruits,  vegetables,  meat,  stock  and  all  products  of 
and  necessities  for  Western  North  Carolina,  both  fresh  and  manufac- 
tured; to  erect,  operate  and  maintain  canning  and  packing  factories, 
cider-vinegar  generators,  and  commission  houses;  to  manufacture  and 
grow  any  and  all  products  of  Western  North  Carolina;  to  erect,  op- 
erate and  maintain  ice  plants  and  cold  storage,  and  to  engage  in  such 
other  business  as  pertains  to  the  fruit  and  truck  growing  of  Western 
North  Carolina.' 

"The  shares  had  better  be  made  as  small  as  $5  or  $10 
each,  so  that  the  poorest  farmer  may  take  at  least  one  share. 
The  amount  of  funds  with  which  the  association  may  begin 
business — that  is  to  say,  the  paid-in  capital  stock  as  dis- 
tinguished from  the  authorized — may  be  large  or  small  ac- 
cording to  the  nature  of  the  business.  The  amount  of  the 
authorized  or  maximum  possible  capital  stock  may  be 
made  any  sum  from  $5,000  to  $100,000,  or  more.  The  cap- 
ital may  be  increased  in  the  manner  and  to  the  amount 
the  directors  may  determine  as  the  need  arises.  If  the 
desire  is  to  begin  business  on  as  small  a  scale  as  possible 
the  amount  of  capital  need  not  be  large.  If  supplies  are  to 
be  largely  purchased  upon  orders  which  have  been  pre- 
viously gathered  together  from  the  members,  the  expense 
may  be  apportioned  to  each  member  according  to  the 
amount  of  purchases.  In  the  case  of  the  sale  of  products, 
the  organization  may  act  as  the  agent  of  the  growers  at  a 
fixed  rate  of  commission,  which  shall  cover  all  expenses. 
In  this  way  it  is  possible  to  get  along  with  a  very  small 
working  capital.  On  the  other  hand,  if  the  paid-in  capital 
can  be  made  larger  than  the  actual  necessities  of  equip- 
ment and  operation,  the  surplus  may  be  deposited  in  a 
bank.  This  will  help  to  establish  the  credit  of  the  organ- 
ization." 

The  next  question  that  comes  up  is  as  to  what  the  by- 
laws shall  be,  and  on  this  point  Professor  Camp  and  the  writer 


74  HOW  FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE   PROFITS 

have  consulted  the  experience  of  a  great  variety  of  co- 
operative societies.  In  the  Appendix  I  am  printing  two 
model  forms,  which  will  be  found  useful  in  preparing  the 
forms  for  almost  any  co-operative  organization.  These 
forms  may  be  varied,  of  course,  to  meet  the  wishes  of  any 
group  of  co-operators,  but  they  include  certain  fundamen- 
tal features  of  successful  co-operation  which  should  not  be 
lightly  disregarded,  such  as  patronage  dividends,  "one  man, 
one  vote,"  etc.,  explained  in  our  thirteen  rules  already 
given. 

The  set  of  by-laws  first  given  in  the  Appendix  are  based 
chiefly  on  a  model  recommended  by  the  Wisconsin  Board 
of  Public  Affairs  and  on  the  by-laws  of  the  Catawba  Co- 
operative Creamery. 

The  second  set  of  by-laws  Dr.  John  Lee  Coulter  picked 
out  from  among  dozens  as  the  finest  sort  of  model  for 
farmers  to  adopt.  This  model  is  the  form  used  by  the  highly 
successful  and  efficient  Lakefield  Farmers'  Co-operative 
Elevator  Company  of  Lakefield,  Minnesota;  and,  as  will 
be  seen,  it  can  be  varied  to  meet  the  needs  of  almost  any 
form  of  farmers'  co-operative  society.  Furthermore,  as 
Dr.  Coulter  points  out,  these  by-laws  show  in  a  concrete 
way  the  actual  experience  of  this  farmers'  company.  It 
started  out  as  a  pure  corporation,  calling  itself  "co-opera- 
tive," but  finally,  as  shown  by  the  last  clauses,  amended  its 
rules  and  regulations  and  adopted  the  purely  co-operative 
principles. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

HOW    CO-OPERATION    REMADE   A   MINNESOTA 

NEIGHBORHOOD 

Twelve  Forms  of  Co-operation  in  One  Community — Ho7i>  It 
All  Started — Pastor  Lundberg  a  Power  for  Progress — The 
Mysterious  Way  He  Paid  His  Note — The  Co-operative 
Store  and  How  the  Town  Merchants  Got  Gloriously  Licked 
When  They  Tried  to  Crush  It. 

SVEA,  Minnesota,  so  far  as  I  know,  is  the  finest  ex- 
ample of  co-operative  community  effort  in  America, 
the  finest  example  extant  of  farmers  getting  together 
and  pulling  together  as  one  man  to  build  up  the 
neighborhood,  not  only  in  everything  affecting  their  work 
and  business,  but  in  everything  affecting  the  social  life,  the 
intellectual  and  educational  development,  and  even  the 
moral  standards  of  the  community. 

Svea,  as  I  found  with  equal  surprise  and  gratification 
when  I  visited  it,  is  an  absolutely  pure  and  unadulterated 
country  neighborhood,  ten  miles  from  a  railroad  station, 
and  there  is  no  village  at  all  except  the  postoffice  and  the 
offices  of  the  farmers'  co-operative  enterprises  and  the  homes 
of  their  managers.  Untouched  by  town  influences,  there- 
fore, these  Svea  farmers  are  working  out  their  high  destiny, 
and  are  showing  the  whole  world  what  farmers  can  do, 
aided  only  by  intelligence,  neighborliness,  energy  and  stick- 
to-it-iveness.  In  Svea  they  have  established  and  operated 
thus  far  without  one  single  failure — 

1.  A  co-operative  creamery. 

2.  A  co-operative  telephone  company. 

3.  A  co-operative  grain  elevator. 

4.  A  co-operative  live  stock  shipping  association. 

76 


7^  HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 


5.  A  co-operative  store. 

6.  A  co-operative  insurance  company. 

7.  A  co-operative  bank  (now  forming). 

Moreover,  they  also  have  as  a  result  of  what  we  may 
term  co-operative  effort — 

8.  A  thoroughly  equipped  high  school,  with  agricultural 
and  domestic  science  teaching, 

9.  A  consolidated  church  with  a  resident  pastor. 

10.  A  school  library  and  a  State  traveling  library. 

11.  Neighborhood  social  meetings  three  times  a  month 
under  church  influences. 

12.  They  have  "made  their  neighborhood  a  reading  neigh- 
borhood." Almost  every  farmer  takes  two  to  four  farm 
papers  and  other  reading  matter  in  proportion. 

In  other  words,  the  Svea  farmers  have  become  "business 
men"  as  surely  as  commercial  men  in  the  towns  are  busi- 
ness men,  and  are  doubling  their  profits  as  a  result,  while 
they  are  at  the  same  time  developing  a  high  degree  of  cul- 
ture and  that  satisfying  social  life  without  which  mere 
money  is  valueless,  while  also  maintaining  those  moral  and 
spiritual  influences  which  town  life  tends  to  destroy. 

And  the  most  glorious  fact  about  it  all  is  that  by  adapting 
the  business  enterprises  to  local  conditions,  and  following 
the  example  of  Svea  with  regard  to  social,  intellectual  and 
moral  influences,  almost  any  rural  neighborhood  can  win 
for  itself  the  increased  profits,  the  added  culture  and  the  rich 
social  life  which  the  wise  farmers  of  Svea  have  shown  how 
to  win. 

The  first  co-operative  enterprise  begun  by  the  Svea  farm- 
ers was  the  creamery  started  in  1896.  Most  of  the  mem- 
bers had  been  conspicuous  in  the  Farmers'  Alliance  move- 
ment several  years  before ;  and  failing  in  their  effort  to 
better  their  condition  by  means  of  legislation,  they  set  out 
to  see  what  they  could  do  by  means  of  self-help.  The  sec- 
tion being  well  adapted  to  dairying,  and  many  of  the  farm- 
ers being  dairymen  in  a  small  way,  they  naturally  took  to 
the  creamery  idea  first,  especially  as  the  prices  paid  for 


HOW    CO-OPERATION    REMADE  A   NEIGHBORHOOD  77 

butter  had  been  running  low.  Mrs.  A.  O.  Nelson,  wife  of 
one  of  the  co-operative  pioneers,  in  whose  home  I  stopped, 
says  her  mother  years  ago  sold  butter  for  five  cents  a 
pound,  and  Mr.  Nelson  says  his  father  sold  it  for  three 
cents — and  took  pay  in  calico!  "But  I  do  not  blame  the 
merchants,"  he  explained,  fair-minded  man  that  he  is,  in 
making  the  statement.  "Three  cents  was  about  all  that 
the  butter  was  worth  to  them,  because  they  had  no  dis- 
tribution and  there  was  no  grading  as  to  quality,  but  it  was 
all  dumped  into  a  barrel  together  and  sold  as  grease." 

The  co-operative  creamery  in  Svea,  and  elsewhere  in  the 
Northwest,  therefore,  like  the  co-operative  creameries  in 
Denmark  and  Ireland,  came  not  only  to  save  farmers  the 
profits  previously  paid  to  middlemen,  but  to  create  new 
profits:  (i)  by  guaranteeing  quality — genuine,  money- 
compelling,  profit-insuring  quality — for  the  farmers'  prod- 
ucts, and  (2)  by  providing  a  scientific,  businesslike  sys- 
tem of  finding  profitable  markets  and  of  satisfying  and  even 
gratifying  these  markets  when  found.  Instead  of  three  or 
five  cents  a  pound  for  butter,  the  Svea  farmer  now  gets 
30  to  35  cents  a  pound  without  any  further  expense  for 
marketing,  and  shares  in  whatever  profits  the  creamery 
makes. 

I  might  also  as  well  say  now  as  later  that  this  creamery, 
and  practically  all  the  other  Svea  co-operative  enterprises 
are  conducted  on  the  true  Rochdale  co-operative  plan. 
That  is  to  say,  they  never  pay  more  than  legal  interest 
on  capital  stock,  and  divide  profits  upon  the  basis  of  patron- 
age, paying  farmers  who  are  not  shareholders  only  one- 
half  the  rate  paid  shareholders.  But  any  patron  may  be- 
come a  shareholder  by  subscribing  for  a  small  share  of 
stock. 

That  there  is  nothing  like  one  success  to  inspire  con- 
fidence in  attempting  another,  we  all  know;  and  it  was 
only  natural  that  after  getting  on  so  well  with  the  creamery 
from  1896  to  1900,  the  Svea  farmers  in  the  latter  year  seized 


78  HOW    FARMERS    CO-OPERATE   AND    DOUBLE   PROFITS 

an  opportunity  to  take  over  the  local  telephone  system  and 
put  it  on  a  co-operative  basis — another  undertaking  which 
has  proved  a  thoroughgoing  triumph.  To  the  general  pub- 
lic, low  rates  were  given  and  to  shareholders  still  lower 
rates,  with  the  result  that  probably  ninety  out  of  one  hun- 
dred of  the  farm  homes  in  the  country  have  local  and  long- 
distance connections  with  both  their  farmer  neighbors  and 
their  city  neighbors,  and  with  all  the  world  outside.  "The 
only  man  I  ever  knew  without  a  telephone,"  said  one  Svea 
citizen  to  me,  "is  a  fellow  below  the  hill  there,  and  he  is  no 
man  at  all." 

In  establishing  the  Svea  co-operative  telephone  system, 
as  in  all  similar  attempts  at  co-operation  there  for  years, 
a  plumed  knight  in  the  ranks  of  progress,  a  leader  whose 
great  influence  always  told  mightily  for  good,  was  Rev. 
J.  O.  Lundberg,  the  pastor  of  the  Swedish  Lutheran 
Church — a  man  whose  memory  will  always  be  cherished  by 
the  people  he  loved  and  served. 

Pastor  Lundberg  was  one  of  those  preachers — alas,  yet 
too  rare — who  recognized  the  fact  that  it  is  the  purpose  of 
religion  to  bring  God's  radiant  kingdom  to  this  old  earth 
as  well  as  reveal  to  us  a  future  kingdom  in  the  New 
Jerusalem,  and  that  the  only  practical  active  way  to  serve 
the  Lord  here  is  to  serve  His  creatures,  His  substitutes,  in 
fact,  of  whom  He  has  said :  "Inasmuch  as  ye  have  done 
it  to  the  least  of  these,  ye  have  done  it  unto  me."  Pastor 
Lundberg  did  not  interpret  with  any  silly  literalism,  for 
example,  the  injunction  to  feed  the  hungry,  but  he  believed 
that  he  should  encourage  the  agencies  that  would  keep 
men  from  want  and  hunger  as  well  as  relieve  them  after 
they  had  become  hungry;  and  he  recognized,  too,  the  fur- 
ther fact  that  hunger  for  a  richer  social,  intellectual  and 
community  life  should  be  relieved  as  surely  as  hunger  for 
material  bread  and  meat.  So  the  co-operative  telephone 
system,  for  instance,  which  has  brought  happiness  in  and 
driven  loneliness  out  from  the  lives  of  scores  and  hundreds 
of  Svean  farm  women — this  system  owes  much  to  the  in- 


HOW    CO-OPERATION    REMADE  A    NEIGHBORHOOD  79 

'    fluence  of  the  Lutheran  pastor  who  showed  his  interest  by 
)    becoming  from  the  first  an  officer  of  the  company.     In  fact^ 
!    there  are  some  who  say  that  the  whole  wonderful  develop- 
ment of  the  co-operative  spirit  in  Svea  had  its  beginning- 
\    when  the  farmers,  regardless  of  minor  sectarian  differences,, 
decided  to  come  together  and  support  one  strong,  powerful 
church  with  a  resident  pastor  to  lead  and  serve  all  right- 
eous causes  in  the  community. 

At  any  rate,  Pastor  Lundberg,  giving  his  personal  aid 
;  and  the  aid  of  his  church  to  every  movement  for  bettering- 
I  the  community — socially,  educationally,  intellectually,  in- 
.  dustrially — became  an  example  of  what  a  consecrated  and 
I  forceful  preacher  can  do;  and  when  the  farmers,  in  1909, 
)  decided  that  the)''  ought  to  go  a  step  further  and  establish 
.  a  co-operative  store,  it  is  not  surprising  to  learn  that, 
'  though  without  ready  money,  he  was  one  of  the  first 
!  to  subscribe  for  $100  in  stock,  by  giving  a  promissory  note 
'  in  payment.  The  store,  of  course,  was  operated  on  the 
Rochdale  plan,  paying  only  6  per  cent  on  stock  and  divid- 
[|  ing  all  other  profits  on  the  basis  of  patronage — that  is  to- 
say,  if  the  company  made  profits  enough,  it  would  pay  back 
shareholders,  say,  $8  for  each  $100  worth  of  goods  they 
purchased,  and  non-shareholders  $4  for  each  $100  pur- 
chased by  them — and  what  happened  to  Pastor  Lundberg's 
promissory  note  is  a  fine  illustration  of  the  store's  success. 
Ten  months  after  the  store  started,  though  he  hadn't  paid 
in  a  cent  on  his  share,  the  management  checked  up  ac- 
counts with  him  and  found  that  his  dividends  on  his  trade 
amounted  to  enough  to  pay  the  $100  note,  the  6  per  cent 
interest  on  it,  and  $44.60  besides.  A  somewhat  similar 
experience  was  that  given  me  by  Mr.  A.  J.  Abbott :  *T 
bought  two  shares  at  $105  each  on  credit,  and  in  eighteen 
months  my  dividends  had  paid  for  one  of  them,  leaving- 
me  only  one  to  settle  for." 

Several  factors  have  contributed  to  the  success  of  the 
Svea  Co-operative  Store.  To  begin  with,  the  members 
did   not   make   the  primary  and   fundamental   mistake   of 


80  HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE    PROFITS 

establishing  a  new  store,  thereby  adding  to  the  already 
excessively  large  number  of  middlemen.  On  the  contrary, 
they  (i)  bought  out  the  existing  store  at  Svea — even 
though  the  owner  did  sell  to  them  a  little  reluctantly  perhaps. 
(2)  They  employed  a  thoroughly  competent  manager,  for 
the  manager's  efficiency  is  half  the  battle.  (3)  They  paid 
him  a  good  salary,  for  the  co-operators  boast  that  "We  pay 
higher  salaries  than  privately  owned  stores."  (4)  They 
established  a  strict  and  business-like  system  of  auditing  and 
accounting.  (5)  They  went  into  the  plan  with  character- 
istic Swedish  dogged  persistence,  resolved  to  stick  to  it  for 
better  or  worse. 

The  supreme  test  to  their  loyalty  came  about  two  years 
ago  when  the  town  merchants  of  Willmar,  the  county  seat, 
ten  miles  from  Svea,  aided  and  inspired  by  the  old  Svea 
merchant  the  co-operators  had  bought  out,  decided  it  was 
time  to  break  up  this  high-handed  independence  the  farmers 
"were  showing. 

Not  only  had  these  countrymen  established  a  co-opera- 
tive creamery,  telephone  system,  store  and  stock  shipping 
association,  but  they  had  gone  into  Willmar  and  estab- 
lished a  farmers'  co-operative  grain  elevator  in  opposition 
to  the  capitalist-owned  elevators  already  operating.  It  was 
surely  time  to  do  something,  the  Willmar  merchants  de- 
cided— time  either  to  make  terms  with  the  embattled  farm- 
ers or  organize,  fight  and  conquer  them;  and,  ill-advised, 
they  decided  upon  the  latter  policy.  Pooling  their  interests 
and  putting  up  the  necessary  capital,  they  rented  the  old 
Svea  store  building  the  co-operators  had  moved  out  of, 
put  a  clever  and  capable  manager  and  a  fine  stock  of  goods 
into  it,  and  set  out  to  "put  the  co-operative  store  out  of 
business."  This  was  planned,  in  fact,  as  the  beginning  of 
the  end  of  the  whole  co-operative  movement.  "They 
wanted  to  break  up  our  store  and  our  creamery  and  our 
elevator  and  our  stock  shipping  association,  one  and  all," 
says  Mr.  A.  O.  Nelson.  "The  only  thing  they  figured  on 
leaving  us  was  our  preacher." 


HOW   CO-OPERATION   REMADE  A   NEIGHBORHOOD  81 

But  the  Willmar  merchants  had  reckoned  without  their 
hosts.  They  had  flung  a  red  flag  in  the  bull's  face,  and 
what  the  Svea  folks  did  to  their  anti-co-operative  store  was 
enough.  The  manager  was. a  clever  and  capable  man,  as  I 
have  said,  but  he  not  only  did  not  get  patronage,  he  did  not 
even  get  a  chance  to  explain  what  terms  he  would  make  on 
patronage — that  is  to  say,  not  to  any  of  the  co-operators. 
"Did  he  cut  prices  on  you?  Did  he  try  to  break  up  your 
co-operative  store  by  underselling  you?"  my  friend  Mr. 
Green  asked  Mr.  Nelson  as  we  talked.  "That's  what  we 
don't  know,"  was  Mr.  Nelson's  reply,  "because  we  never 
bought  anything  from  him  to  find  out !" 

The  women  had  up  their  fighting  blood  even  more  de- 
cidedly than  the  men.  "Tjie  manager  was  a  verra  nice  man 
and  had  a  mighty  sweet  wife,"  a  co-operator's  wife  ex- 
plained to  me,  "and  I  was  sorry  for  his  wife,  but  still  we 
never  invited  her  to  visit  us  because  we  did  not  want  to  be 
under  obligations  to  them  and  we  thought  the  quicker  they 
left  the  better." 

But  the  Svea  co-operators  did  not  stop  with  their  own 
passive  resistance  or  their  wives'  passive  ostracism — they 
resolved  to  carry  the  war  into  Africa.  "Since  these  Willmar 
merchants  have  come  down  here  fighting  us  because  of  our 
little  store,"  they  said,  "we'll  give  them  something  worth 
worrying  about."  The  Svea  co-operators  met  and  resolved 
not  only  to  stick  to  their  Svea  enterprise,  but  to  establish, 
if  possible,  a  co-operative  store  in  Willmar  itself.  "Three 
hundred  dollars  was  voted  for  organization  expenses,"  as 
one  Svea  woman  said  to  me,  "and  then  a  good  many  of  us 
shivered,  for  we  didn't  know  what  would  happen."  It  was, 
indeed,  a  bold  stroke,  but  it  won.  A  new  $20,000  co-opera- 
tive store  was  started  in  Willmar,  one  of  the  merchants 
there  selling  to  the  farmers  and  hiring  to  them  as  manager ; 
the  opposition  store  at  Svea,  a  dreary  and  hopeless  failure, 
soon  had  to  close  its  doors;  and  since  then  both  Svea  and 
Willmar  co-operative  enterprises  have  waxed  strong  and 
powerful.     The  Svea  store  last  year  after  putting  lo  per 


■I 

82  HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE   PROFITS 

cent  of  its  profits  into  a  reserve  fund,  paid  a  6  per  cent 
dividend  on  member's  patronage  (that  is  to  say,  returned 
stockholders  six  cents  for  each  dollar  they  had  traded  dur- 
ing the  year),  and  paid  half  as  much  or  around  3  per  cent 
to  non-shareholders,  while  the  Willmar  store  paid  12  per 
cent  to  stockholders  and  6  per  cent  to  non-members. 


CHAPTER  IX 

WHY  CAN'T  YOU  HAVE  A  NEIGHBORHOOD 

LIKE  SVEA? 

Education  the  Foundation — The  Community  Church  and  Its 
"Coffee  Socials" — Why  the  Co-operative  Store  Succeeded — 
The  Farmers'  Grain  Elevator  and  Its  Figltt  with  the  "Trust" 
— An  Appeal  to  the  Reader 

I  AM  going  to  stop  right  in  the  middle  of  my  story  of 
the  wonderful  success  of  co-operation  in  Svea  to  tell 
what  I  believe  is  the  chief  secret  of  its  wonderful  suc- 
cess in  this  Minnesota  farm  neighborhood.  That 
secret  is  nothing  more  nor  less  than  education,  education, 
education — and  a  willingness  to  pay  any  price  necessary  to 
get  adequate  educational  facilities  for  the  community.  When 
I  asked  Mr.  A.  O.  Nelson,  the  hustling,  red-headed,  wide-awake 
leader  of  co-operation  in  Svea,  what  was  their  rural 
school  tax,  he  almost  struck  me  dumb  when  he  answered 
promptly: 

"Seventeen  mills,  or  $1.70  on  the  $100  of  property!" 
Of  course,  this  is  something  unusual.  It  is,  in  fact, 
nearly  double  the  local  school  tax  even  Svea  folks  usually 
pay.  Two  or  three  years  ago,  however,  they  decided  they 
wanted  a  handsome  new  building  with  industrial  features — 
agriculture  for  the  boys  and  domestic  science  for  the  girls — 
together  with  transportation  of  pupils  living  over  two  miles 
from  the  school  (two  miles  in  a  blizzardy  Minnesota  win- 
ter is  easily  the  equivalent  of  four  miles  in  the  South)  ; 
and  so  $1.70  on  each  $100  worth  of  property  was  the  tax 
they  voted,  although  they  had  only  one  school  organiza- 
tion to  keep  up.  Our  Southern  communities  with  two  sep- 
arate school  systems  to  maintain  frequently  boast  them- 


84  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

selves  mightily  for  voting  a  thirty-cent  tax  on  themselves. 

Eight  months  term  a  year  with  two  teachers — a  man  who 
teaches  agriculture,  a  woman  who  teaches  domestic  science ; 
compulsory  attendance  from  eight  to  sixteen;  free  text 
books  for  all  pupils;  a  good  school  library;  reproductions 
of  noted  pictures  on  the  wall — all  these  the  farm  parents 
of  Svea  have  provided  for  their  boys  and  girls,  and  they 
are  arranging  to  have  an  eight-acre  school  farm  as  well. 

Moreover,  education  in  Svea  is  not  confined  to  the  young 
people.  Education,  in  fact,  cannot  be  confined  to  the 
period  of  youth,  but  the  truly  educated  man  must  go  on 
learning  all  his  life — like  the  old  man  of  76  years  old  who 
attended  a  short  course  at  the  Danish  agricultural  school 
I  visited  one  summer.  If  a  man  has  had  poor  school  ad- 
vantages, he  can  nevertheless  educate  himself  by  reading 
plenty  of  the  right  kind  of  books  and  papers — the  right 
kind,  be  sure;  and  no  matter  if  a  man  has  been  highly  edu- 
cated in  the  schools,  he  must  read  much  if  he  is  to  get  real 
dividends  and  benefits  from  his  early  training.  The  farm- 
ers of  Svea  realized  this,  and  another  secret  of  their  success 
leaked  out  when  I  asked  the  mail  carrier  if  most  farmers  on 
his  route  took  a  farm  paper. 

"Well,  I  should  say,"  was  his  reply.  "Two  or  three  farm 
papers  on  an  average ;   most  of  them  take  three  or  four." 

Most  of  them  read  books,  too.  Not  only  is  there  a  school 
library,  but  a  State-supported  traveling  library  also  en- 
larges their  intellectual  horizon ;  and  only  a  few  feet  from 
the  door  where  I  met  the  mail  carrier,  I  saw  this  sign 
posted  up  : 


Minnesota  Traveling  Library — Free  to  All 

This  library  is  now  located  at  Svea,  Minn.    Open  to  the 
public  Monday  until  Saturday  from  8.00  a.  m.  till  9  p.  M 

Lottie  B.  Nelson,  Librarian. 


WHY  can't  you   have  A  NEIGHBORHOOD  LIKE   SVEA?      85 

In  addition  to  having  the  good  sense  to  provide  excellent 
schools  for  their  children,  the  Svea  farmers  have  had  the 
great  good  fortune  to  be  free  from  denominational  faction- 
alism. There  was  not  much  difference  in  belief  among 
them  anyhow,  so  instead  of  having  two  or  three  half-dying 
churches,  each  with  a  monthly  meeting  and  a  handful  of 
members,  they  have  one  strong  church  which  largely  shapes 
the  life  of  the  neighborhood,  moral  and  social. 

Consider,  for  example,  how  greatly  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity has  been  enriched  and  sweetened  by  the  justly 
popular  "coffee  socials,"  as  they  are  called,  held  three  times 
monthly  at  the  homes  of  members  in  rotation.  These 
meetings  are  usually  held  on  Wednesday  afternoon  from 
2  to  5  o'clock,  and  fifty  to  one  hundred  of  the  neighbor- 
folk,  both  old  and  young,  are  likely  to  attend.  Light  re- 
freshments are  served ;  there  are  songs  and  stories,  games 
and  gossip,  a  talk  perhaps  by  one  of  the  men,  or  an  essay 
by  one  of  the  women,  or  ice  cream  to  be  sold  for  church 
purposes.  Such  is  a  typical  program;  and  while  most  of 
the  older  married  folks  go  home  about  5  o'clock,  some  of 
the  younger  ones  and  a  few  of  their  elders  are  likely  to 
remain  for  the  evening. 

Naturally  enough,  the  pretty  schoolgirl  who  told  me 
most  of  these  "coffee  socials"  not  only  had  some  enthu- 
siasm for  them  herself,  but  added,  "My  mamma  goes  to 
every  one  that  comes."  We  need  such  meetings  all  over 
our  farming  sections  to  vary  the  monotony  of  toil  for  both 
old  and  young,  men  and  women,  and  where  one  country 
church  is  not  strong  enough  to  support  them,  why  shouldn't 
two  or  more  churches  drop  their  differences  long  enough 
to  co-operate  in  working  out  some  such  plan  as  I  have 
described?  That  a  community  is  much  bettered  by  having 
its  social  life  under  such  elevating  influences  as  surround 
the  Svea  "coffee  socials"  goes  without  saying. 

From  my  consideration  of  the  social  and  educational  life 
of  this  Minnesota  country  community,  however,  I  must 
now  get  back  to  the  question  of  their  work  in  practical 


86  HOW  FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

business  co-operation.  When  I  left  off  in  the  preceding 
chapter,  I  was  telling  of  their  interesting  experience  in 
maintaining  their  little  co-operative  store  at  Svea  when  the 
town  merchants  from  Willmar  joined  together  and  tried 
to  put  it  out  of  business  and  how  the  Svea  folk,  in  retalia- 
tion, established  one  in  Willmar  itself,  now  perhaps  the 
best  paying  store  in  that  town. 

It  should  not  be  forgotten,  however  (i)  that  in  neither 
case  did  the  co-operating  farmers  start  a  new  store;  they 
simply  bought  out  an  old  one;  (2)  that  in  Svea  the  store 
succeeded  so  well  because  the  members,  having  bought  out 
the  storekeeper  who  was  there  before,  have  a  clear  field, 
and  have  had  it  clear  all  the  time  except  for  the  few 
months  the  Willmar-supported  rival  faced  them ;  and  (3) 
that  the  Willmar  store  could  never  have  won  the  success 
it  has  achieved  but  for  the  fact  that  in  addition  to  its  hun- 
dred or  more  farmer-stockholder  patrons,  it  has  a  hundred 
or  more  stockholders  in  town.  In  fact,  it  is  likely  that  the 
town  stockholders  supply  most  of  its  trade.  Paying  a  $5 
membership  fee  and  subscribing  for  one  or  more  shares 
of  stock  at  $10  each  (only  legal  interest  is  paid  on  stock) 
makes  one  a  shareholder,  and  inasmuch  as  stockholders  get 
twice  the  dividends  on  patronage  that  non-stockholders 
get,  it  is  not  surprising  that  thirty  men  made  haste  to  sub- 
scribe for  stock  just  after  the  last  patronage-dividend  was 
declared,  $12  being  then  returned  to  each  shareholder  and  $6 
to  each  non-shareholder  for  each  $100  worth  of  goods  pur- 
chased in  the  preceding  twelvemonth. 

The  observation  is  also  made  both  at  Svea  and  Willmar 
that  the  co-operative  stores  on  crowded  days  will  hold  cus- 
tomers that  a  regular  merchant  would  lose.  'T  don't  mind 
waiting  for  the  rush  business,"  a  farmer  patron  will  often 
say  with  a  smile-that-won't-come-off,  "for  I  know  the  more 
business  there  is,  the  bigger  will  be  my  dividend  next  time." 

These  stores  are  in  honor  bound  to  sell  any  patron  at 
least  one  share  of  stock  and  make  a  member  of  him  if  he 
wishes.     Some  companies  pay  dividends  to  non-members 


WHY  can't  you   have  A  NEIGHBORHOOD  LIKE  SVEA?      87 

in  the  shape  of  credit  on  stock  until  his  dividends 
amount  to  enough  to  entitle  him  to  a  share,  whereupon  it 
is  issued  to  him.  Reference  should  also  be  made  again  tc^ 
the  importance  of  the  monthly  auditing  of  accounts  under 
an  especially  efficient  system  worked  out  by  the  "Right 
Relationship  League"  of  Minneapolis.  No  co-operative 
enterprise  should  ever  be  started  anywhere  without  pro^ 
viding  for  expert  auditing. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  I  also  made  a  brief  allusion  to- 
the  co-operative  grain  elevator  the  Svea  farmers  estab- 
lished in  1910  at  Willmar,  which  is  their  nearest  shippings 
point.  An  elevator,  it  will  be  observed,  has  about  the  same 
relation  to  the  wheat  and  barley  industry  of  Minnesota  that 
a  warehouse  has  to  the  cotton  industry  in  the  South ;  it  is 
the  place  where  the  product  is  stored  and  from  which  it  is 
sold  and  shipped. 

Now  at  Willmar  away  back  yonder  In  the  days  when  the 
Alliance  was  at  the  height  of  its  power,  the  farmers  started 
a  so-called  "farmers'  co-operative  elevator"  at  Willmar,  but 
inasmuch  as  it  wasn't  really  co-operative,  the  30  to  40  per 
cent  profits  it  started  out  by  making  all  went  to  the  men 
who  owned  stock  instead  of  the  men  who  furnished  the 
business,  and  the  natural  result  was  that  profit-hunting 
city  business  men  began  to  buy  up  the  stock.  The  next 
and  equally  natural  result  was  that  the  farmers  said,  "We 
are  not  going  to  patronize  this  sham  concern  just  to  pay 
big  profits  to  the  capitalist  stockholders."  So  it  lost  busi- 
ness and  had  practically  or  actually  died  when  the  Svea 
farmers  three  years  ago  decided  they  would  pay  $950  for 
the  building  by  itself  and  start  the  business  again  on  the 
genuine  co-operative,  profits-to-patronage  basis.  In  two 
years  time,  I  was  informed,  the  elevator  on  this  $950  in- 
vestment has  paid  its  patrons  $5,000  in  patronage-dividends 
besides  paying  three  cents  a  bushel  more  for  wheat ! 

A  record  like  that  is  certainly  well  calculated  to  make 
other  Western  farmers  decide  to  organize  and  fight  the 
elevator  trust  which  has  too  long  had  everything  its  own 


88  now    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

way  in  many  western  towns.  Not  a  few  of  these  trust 
companies  were  "born  in  sin  and  conceived  in  iniquity" 
anyhow,  and  have  a  sinister  record  from  start  to  finish. 

C.  B.  Williams,  a  well-known  Minnesota  writer  on  co- 
operation, says : 

"To  understand  how  this  oppressive  [elevator]  monopoly  could 
have  been  built  up  it  is  necessary  to  go  back  and  see  how  the  line 
houses  had  before  this  crushed  out  most  of  the  independent  dealers. 
The  Peavy  Company,  for  instance,  between  1877  and  1898  secured  con- 
trol of  800  elevators;  Armours  had  700;  Councilman  150,  and  so  on. 
The  method  was  this:  Charles  Peavy,  for  instance,  would  go  into  a 
town  and  buy  out  or  build  an  elevator  for  $5,000.  This  would  be  put 
into  the  Peavy  Elevator  Company  for  $11,000  of  its  stock.  Five  thou- 
sand dollars  of  this  stock,  enough  to  cover  the  real  cost,  would  be  sold 
out  ">  outsiders,  the  $6,000,  or  controlling  interest  remaining  in  the 
hands  of  the  company.  Thus,  in  a  little  over  twenty  years,  they  se» 
cured  control  of  800  elevators  and  $4,800,000  cash  without  the  invest- 
ment of  a  dollar." 

A  favorite  device  of  the  elevator  trust  has  been  to  crush 
out  any  farmers'  elevator  by  temporarily  offering  in  that 
town  more  than  the  market  price  for  wheat,  thereby  taking 
all  patronage  away  from  the  farmers'  elevator  and  keeping 
this  up  long  enough  to  throw  the  farmers'  elevator  into 
bankruptcy— the  trust,  of  course,  simply  making  good  its 
losses  by  correspondingly  reducing  the  price  of  wheat  in 
towns  where  it  had  already  crushed  competition.  This  is 
one  of  the  infamous  trust  practices  that  should  be  rigidly 
prohibited  by  law. 

Meanwhile  to  meet  this  competition  the  following  plan 
has  been  proposed  and  in  some  cases  tried  out,  and  though 
its  legality  has  been  questioned  in  some  other  States,  the 
Attorney-General  of  Wisconsin  says  it  is  thoroughly  legal 
provided  the  agreement  is  written  into  the  contracts  with 
the  farmer  members.  The  plan  is  this:  If  the  trust  iii 
Willmar,  for  example,  decides  to  break  down  the  farmers' 
elevator  by  paying  four  cents  more  a  bushel  for  wheat  than 
the  market  price  (and,  therefore,  four  cents  more  than  the 
farmers'  elevator  can  pay),  the  farmer  co-operators  are  au- 
thorized to  go  ahead  and  sell  their  wheat  to  the  trust  but 


WHY   can't   you   have  A   NEIGHBORHOOD   LIKE   SVEA?      89 

to  turn  over  to  their  own  elevator  half  their  excess  profits 
(that  is  to  say,  two  cents  a  bushel),  in  order  to  pay  its 
necessary  expenses.  A  plan  like  this  naturally  does  not 
please  the  trust  very  long.  It  accomplishes  nothing  toward 
crushing  its  rival,  while  the  farmer  members  gain  at  the 
trust's  expense.  This  is  perhaps  the  most  altogether  de- 
lightful game  that  an  exasperated  people  have  ever  "played 
back"  on  the  trusts  in  return  for  the  many  cases  of  con- 
scienceless trickery  we  have  suffered  by  their  hands. 

At  Willmar  at  one  time  since  the  co-operative  elevator 
was  organized  the  trust  professed  to  pay  the  farmers  two 
cents  a  bushel  more  for  wheat,  but  docked  them  enough  in 
grading,  allowance  for  dirt,  etc.,  to  even  up.  At  another 
time  I  learned  from  the  co-operators'  manager,  barley  was 
selling  at  $1.13  in  Minneapolis,  say  100  miles  away,  while 
the  trust  elevators  in  Willmar  were  offering  only  seventy- 
five  or  eighty  cents  a  bushel.  The  farmers'  elevator  at  once 
carried  the  price  to  $1  and  $1.02,  "Right  now,"  Manager  Sun- 
deine  continued,  "the  trust  elevators  are  paying  three  cents 
a  bushel  less  for  wheat  at  Priam  and  Raymond,  the  first 
and  second  stations  west  of  here,  where  they  have  no  com- 
petition, than  they  are  paying  at  Willmar  where  the  farm- 
ers are  organized  for  business." 

There  are  many  other  things  the  Svea  farmers  have  done 
that  I  should  like  to  discuss,  but  I  have  told  enough,  no 
doubt,  to  make  the  reader  wish  his  community  had  more 
of  the  Svea  spirit.  And  if  you,  indeed,  "covet  earnestly 
these  best  gifts,"  kind  reader,  if  you  would  like  to  have  in 
your  own  neighborhood  the  business  co-operation,  the  in- 
creased profits  from  your  labor,  the  richer  social  life,  the 
enlarged  educational  opportunities,  the  general  spirit  of 
comradeship,  buoyancy  and  achievement  that  one  finds  in 
the  Svea  neighborhood,  why  not  set  out  to  improve  the  oppor- 
tunities that  come  to  you?  Your  neighbors  are  readier  to 
"go  in"  than  you  think — if  you  will  only  show  some  leader- 
ship and  appeal  to  them  to  help  you. 


CHAPTER  X 

HOW  WISCONSIN  BERRY  GROWERS  MET  AN 

UGLY  SITUATION 

Instead  of  Cutting  Their  Crops  to  Escape  Disaster,  Sparta 
Growers  Decide  to  Co-operate  and  Do  Their  Own  Market- 
ing— Something  About  the  Success  of  Their  Organisation 
and  Its  "Big  Stick"  Methods — Gets  Increased  Profits  by 
Knowing  Market  Conditions,  Grading  Carefully  and  Guar- 
anteeing Quality 

NEXT  to  the  record  of  co-operation  in  the  Svea, 
Minn.,  neighborhood,  about  the  most  interesting 
story  of  co-operation  experience  that  I  investi- 
_  gated  in  the  Northwest  was  that  of  the  Sparta 

Fruit  Growers'  Association  of  Sparta,  Wis.  And  just  as 
I  shall  always  think  of  Mr.  A.  O.  Nelson  when  I  think 
of  co-operation  in  the  Minnesota  community  so  I  shall 
always  think  of  Mr.  W.  H.  Hanchett  when  I  think  of 
Sparta. 

Mr.  Hanchett  is  president  of  this  Sparta  Fruit  Growers' 
Association  and,  in  common  parlance,  a  genuine  "live 
wire."  That's  one  characteristic  of  these  Western  co- 
operation leaders :  they  have  enthusiasm  for  their  jobs,  and 
put  fire  and  earnestness  into  what  they  have  to  say. 

Seventeen  years  ago  the  Sparta  fruit  growers  first  organ- 
ized, but  it  was  only  seven  years  ago  that  they  really  got 
on  a  business  footing.  Originally  there  were  only  125 
shares  at  $2  each,  but  the  bigger  plans  of  the  last  seven 
years  are  indicated  by  the  fact  that  there  are  now  3,000 
shares  of  $2  each  held  by  the  302  members,  and  that  the 
handsome   building,   the   property   of   the   association,   in 

90 


HOW  WISCONSIN  BERRY  GROWERS  MET  AN  UGLY  SITUATION   91 

which  I  found  President  Hanchett  and  Secretary  Richard- 
son, cost  $14,000.  With  a  capitalization  of  $6,000,  the 
present  assets  of  the  company  (after  having  paid  increased 
profits  to  all  members)  indicate  a  surplus  of  $9,000. 

The  Sparta  farmers,  like  the  farmers  in  many  another 
community,  might  never  have  known  the  advantages  of 
co-operation  if  they  had  not  been  forced  to  it.  "Necessity 
is  the  mother  of  invention."  Around  Sparta  a  great  many 
farmers  were  growing  strawberries  and  it  seemed  to  the 
growers  that  the  local  buyers  had  a  secret  understanding 
about  prices.  "My  father  was  one  of  the  pioneer  berry 
growers,"  Mr.  Hanchett  told  me,  "and  he  used  to  spend 
an  entire  day  getting  rid  of  five  or  six  crates  at  five  cents 
a  quart."  Moreover,  if  the  farmers  shipped  for  themselves 
to  Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Milwaukee  or  Duluth,  the  reply  might 
come  back  that  the  market  there  was  glutted  and  that  the 
freight  charges  had  eaten  up  the  receipts.  Finally  the 
farmers  grew  desperate  and  many  said,  "There  has  been 
an  overproduction.  Let's  every  man  plow  up  half  or  two- 
thirds  his  berry  acreage  and  plant  to  something  else." 

But  wiser  and  bolder  men  like  President  Hanchett  said: 
"We  shan't  do  anything  of  the  kind.  We  have  the  natural 
conditions  here  that  suit  berry  growing,  we  know  that  the 
cities  are  willing  to  pay  a  fair  price  for  the  stuff,  and  we  are 
simply  going  to  get  into  position  to  control  distribution. 
We're  going  to  get  the  profits  that  somebody  else  is  partly 
making  now,  and  the  profits  that  are  being  lost  to  every- 
body by  wasteful  methods  of  packing  and  shipping." 

So  the  farmers  came  together  and  agreed  that  all  mem- 
bers should  turn  over  their  entire  berry  product  to  the 
association,  its  officers  to  keep  in  touch  with  the  market 
conditions  in  all  the  principal  centers ;  control  the  car 
service ;  grade  shipments ;  and  divide  profits  among  mem- 
bers after  deducting  expenses.  Of  course,  the  old-time 
berry  buyers  were  wrathy  and  for  a  time  they  sought  to 
get  the  local  merchants  to  stand  with  them  against  this 
farmers'  movement.     But  the  co-operating  farmers  quickly 


92  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

checkmated  this  scheme.  "We  haven't  been  in  favor  of 
starting  a  co-operative  store  in  Sparta;  merchandising  is 
not  our  business,"  they  said  to  the  merchants,  "but  we  have 
a  right  to  ship  and  handle  our  own  berries  and  we  are 
going  to  do  it,  and  we  are  not  going  to  buy  our  goods  from 
folks  who  try  to  prevent  us.  You  just  be  good,  or  we'll  go 
further  and  start  a  co-operative  store."  Whereupon  the 
merchants  reported  that  the  co-operative  fruit  growers' 
association  was  an  excellent  thing. 

But,  of  course,  although  I  said  in  the  last  paragraph  that 
*'the  farmers  came  together,"  not  all  of  them  came.  They 
never  do.  There  was  one  man,  for  example,  who  had  a 
brother-in-law  in  a  not  distant  city  and  he  decided  that  he 
could  make  a  few  more  pennies  by  staying  out  of  the  or- 
ganization. "Very  well,"  the  managers  said,  "but  don't 
undersell  us  to  get  big  orders  for  yourself.  We  are  going 
to  be  reasonable  and  it  will  be  much  better  for  us  all  to 
hang  together."  This  man,  however,  later  seized  a  chance 
to  engage  his  entire  season's  crop  at  so  much  a  crate — a 
lower  price  than  the  association  berries  were  selling  for. 
*'We  resolved  right  then,"  said  the  association  member  who 
told  me  the  story,  "that  the  time  had  come  for  some  'high- 
handed trust  methods',  if  you  want  to  call  them  that.  We 
found  out  what  this  man  had  done  and  proceeded  to  turn 
loose  all  our  surplus  crop  right  in  his  market.  Prices 
dropped  short  off,  his  order  was  canceled,  and  since  then, 
although  he  has  never  joined  the  association,  he  keeps  step 
with  us  and  makes  prices  in  harmony  with  us." 

On  another  occasion  some  members  were  reported  dis- 
loyal. To  be  specific,  it  was  understood  that  they  were 
willing  to  sell  some  of  their  extra  early  berries  to  regular 
buyers  instead  of  turning  them  over  to  the  association. 
Thereupon  the  association  sent  out  a  fake  or  decoy  buyer 
and  trapped  several  of  them.  The  members  so  caught  were 
at  first  expelled  from  the  association,  but  were  later  re- 
instated, having  gained  nothing  but  exposure  and  con- 
tempt for  their  treachery. 


HOW  WISCONSIN  BERRY  GROWERS  MET  AN  UGLY  SITUATION    93 

The  Sparta  managers  have  worked  on  the  theory  that 

f:   the  only  way  to  succeed  is  to  make  the  members  afraid  to 

f!   break   its   rules,   and    non-members    afraid   to    oppose    its 

I   power.     For   example,    President    Hanchett   went    to    the 

II   managers  of  the  freight  car  service  and  said,  "Now,  our 

I   association  will  guarantee  to  use  the  freight  cars  we  ask 

you  to  dispatch  to  Sparta  for  us.     We  demand  that  the 

non-association  farmers   must   also   guarantee   to   use   the 

;     freight  cars  you  send  for  their  use,  if  they  are  to  have  the 

same  low  rates  you  give  us." 

"We  are  always  on  the  lookout  for  customers,"  said 
President  Hanchett,  "and  Sparta  berries  not  only  go  to 
Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Milwaukee  and  Duluth  as  formerly,  but 
also  to  Omaha,  Kansas  City,  Des  Moines,  Fargo  and  Win- 
nipeg. Fruit  dealers  and  grocers  in  the  small  towns  are 
also  cultivated  by  us,  and  are,  in  fact,  our  most  profitable 
customers.  We  also  get  better  prices  from  the  consumers 
than  farmers  acting  individually  would  ever  have  been 
able  to  get,  because  we  guarantee  quality,  which  means 
better  service  and  increased  values  for  these  consumers. 
In  the  old  days  there  were  many  partly-filled  crates,  and 
many  crates  with  ripe  fruit  on  top  and  unripe  fruit  at  the 
bottom — and  the  buyer  had  no  redress.  But  on  every  crate 
the  Sparta  association  sends  out,  the  grower's  number  is 
stamped,  and  the  association  is  responsible  for  quality 
because  it  can  locate  and  expel  any  member  who  swindles. 
Our  grader,  of  course,  is  able  only  to  sample  occasional 
shipments  here  and  there  as  they  come  in,  but  if  any  in- 
ferior fruit  is  brought  in,  the  member  must  personally  call 
the  grader's  attention  to  it,  or  risk  the  consequences." 

Mr.  Hanchett  further  remarked  that  the  agricultural  au- 
thorities at  Madison  call  the  Sparta  association  a  "double- 
barreled  concern,"  because  it  works  both  on  the  capitalistic 
and  co-operative  principle.  If  a  member  comes  in  and 
wishes  the  association  to  handle  his  produce  as  an  agent, 
it  will  gladly  do  it,  remitting  him  all  the  proceeds  less  a 
reasonable  expense  charge.     That  is  to  say,  the  profits  in 


94  HOW  FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

this  case  go  to  patronage.  If,  however,  the  member  is 
timid  and  prefers  to  sell  for  cash  at  a  price  the  association 
names  or  accepts,  the  association  buys  outright  and  the 
profits  go  to  the  stockholders.  Two  years  ago  the  associa- 
ton  bought  up  at  25  cents  a  bushel  the  neighborhood 
Duchess  apple  crop,  for  which  little  or  no  market  had 
been  found,  and  by  grading  and  shipping  in  quantities 
cleared  four  or  five  hundred  dollars.  For  potatoes  on  one 
occasion  a  price  of  33  cents  a  bushel  was  realized  when 
buyers  had  offered  only  18  or  20  cents.  The  association 
also  handles  seeds  and  feedstuffs  for  farmers,  and  last  year 
shipped  five  carloads  of  home-grown  clover  seed  for  farmer- 
members. 

Like  all  the  other  co-operative  enterprises  the  Sparta 
company  acts  wholly  in  the  open.  "Any  member  can  in- 
spect the  books  at  any  time  and  investigate  any  item  in  our 
$80,000  yearly  turnover,"  said  Secretary  Richardson. 
"Every  letter  and  telegram  about  every  shipment  is  on  file." 

Another  successful  co-operative  enterprise  we  found  at 
Sparta  and  with  which  Mr.  Hanchett  is  connected  is  the 
Sparta  Co-operative  Creamery  Company.  It  has  been  running 
eighteen  years,  has  482  members  and  has  a  daily  butter 
output  of  six  thousand  pounds.  In  May  80,000  pounds 
were  turned  out,  netting  producers  29  cents  a  pound.  Last 
winter  butter  fat  brought  as  high  as  38  cents  a  pound. 
Cream  is  collected  every  other  day  from  each  farmer,  eleven 
company  teams  bringing  it  in  daily.  A  dividend  of  5  per 
cent  annually  is  paid  on  the  $2,500  capital  subscribed,  and 
all  other  profits  are  divided  on  the  patronage  basis.  We 
found  the  managers  of  the  creamery  seriously  discussing  a 
plan  to  establish  a  co-operative  laundry  in  connection  with 
the  creamery,  and  this  will  probably  be  done  before  another 
year  ends. 


CHAPTER  XI 

MORE  CO-OPERATION   STORIES   FROM  THE 

NORTHWEST 

The  Co-operative  Laundry  at  Chatficld  a  Project  of  Interest 
to  All  Women  Folk — The  Shehoygander  Farmers  and  Their 
Fight  with  the  Cheese  Makers — Co-operative  Live  Stock 
Shipping  and  How  It  Pays  in  Many  Ways 

IN  THE  Northwest  co-operation  has  become  so  com- 
mon that  I  found  in  St.  Paul  a  copy  of  a  special  maga- 
zine published  for  the  managers  of  co-operative  enter- 
prises, while  ]\Iilwaukee  was  preferring  to  entertain 
the  second  annual  convention  of  the  "National  Association 
of  Managers  of  Farmers'  Co-operative  Companies."  There 
has  been,  in  fact,  such  a  varied  development  of  North- 
western co-operative  activity  that  I  can  only  recount  a  few 
of  its  more  notable  manifestations. 


One  very  notable  story  is  that  of  the  co-operative  laundry, 
established  in  connection  with  the  co-operative  creamery  at 
Chatfield,  Minn.,  which  I  found  to  be  the  talk  of  the  North- 
west. I  visited  two  or  three  of  the  creameries  where  the 
officers  told  me  they  were  planning  to  follow  Chatfield's 
example,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  within  a  few  years  it 
will  be  the  rule  rather  than  the  exception  to  have  a  co- 
operative laundry  in  connection  with  each  co-operative 
creamery.  In  describing  the  Chatfield  laundry  the  St.  Paul 
Farmer  says: 

"A  wing  was  built  to  the  creamery  and  a  ten-horse  power  gasoline 
engine  installed  at  a  total  cost  of  $2,000,  the  creamery  company  financ- 

95 


96  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

ing  this  part  of  the  project.  Complete  laundry  equipment  was  ob- 
tained from  a  manufacturing  company  in  New  York  and  installed  in 
working  order  at  a  cost  of  $3,000.  To  secure  funds  for  this  expense, 
stock  was  sold  at  $5  a  share  to  anyone  who  would  buy,  whether  a 
creamery  stockholder  or  not.  The  town  of  Chatfield  was  without 
laundry  facilities,  and  shares  were  purchased  by  town  and  country 
dwellers  alike.     .     .     . 

"At  regular  periods  a  settlement  will  be  made,  6  per  cent  on  the 
investment  will  be  deducted  from  the  profits,  and  the  remainder  will 
be  rebated  to  the  patrons  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  their  wash- 
ing bills,  whether  they  are  stockholders  or  not.  That  is  the  true  co- 
operative spirit.  It  is  expected  that  the  charge  for  family  washing 
can  be  reduced  to  three  cents  a  pound,  and  that  the  total  cost  for  a 
family  washing  will  not  average  more  than  $2  a  month.  The  farmers 
pay  for  their  laundry  by  the  month,  by  having  the  amount  of  their  bill 
deducted  from  their  cream  check;  and  the  creamery  then  makes  out 
a  check  for  the  full  amount  to  the  laundry  company.  Thus  there  is  no 
collecting  to  do  except  in  town,  and  the  townspeople  have  to  pay  for  it. 
The  laundry  gathers  and  delivers  washing  in  town  and  collects  the  bills, 
and  it  charges  the  same  rate  for  laundry  work;  but  at  the  end  of  the 
period,  when  the  rebates  are  made,  the  town  patrons  will  be  charged  10 
per  cent  of  the  amount  of  their  business  for  this  extra  service.  Thus,  if 
a  20  per  cent  rebate  is  declared  to  farmer  patrons,  the  town  customers 
will  receive  a  rebate  of  only  10  per  cent." 

Although  the  help  the  first  month  was  inexperienced,  the 
creamery  made  a  profit  from  the  start.  Here  is  one  monthly 
statement: 

Receipts  for  the  Month 

Townspeople,  cash  business $210.58 

Farmers,  charged  on  creamery  account 127.37 

Total    receipts $337.95 

Disbursements 

Wages  $262.23 

Soap,  starch,  gasoline,  etc 30.00 

Sundry  expenses 3.90 

Rebate  of  10  per  cent  to  all  patrons,  whether  stockholders  or  not  33.80 

Paid  into  sinking  fund 8.02 

Total  paid  out $337.95 

Mr.  C.  J.  Manahan,  secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  Chat- 
field  laundry  (and  also  of  the  creamery),  says :     "The  farm- 


MORE    CO-OPERATION    STORIES    FROM    THE   NORTHWEST      97 

ers'  wives  around  Chatfield  are  entirely  satisfied  with  the 
work  of  the  laundry,  and  say  that  they  are  through  with 
washing  and  ironing  at  home.  They  are  plannng  now  on 
making  visits  on  wash  days!"  Mr.  Manahan  also  says: 
"There  is  no  reason  why  a  co-operative  laundry  should  not 
be  located  in  every  creamery  district;  but  the  first  secret 
is  to  have  a  prosperous  creamery  back  of  the  venture." 

II 

From  ex-Senator  Henry  Krumrey  of  Plymouth,  Wis.,  I 
got  an  illuminating  story  of  how  the  farmers  of  Sheboygan 
County  outwitted  the  cheese  makers  and  dealers. 

Until  recently  the  farmer-dairymen  there  have  been  con- 
tracting with  the  cheese  makers  not  only  to  make  the  cheese 
for  them,  but  to  sell  the  product — on  a  certain  commission 
basis,  I  believe — but  of  late  years  the  farmers  have  found 
cause  to  arouse  their  suspicions.  For  five  months,  in  191 1, 
for  example,  cheese  sold  at  from  11  to  13  cents,  but  in  win- 
ter, when  most  of  the  product  had  passed  out  of  the  farm- 
ers' hands,  it  sold  from  18  to  22  cents — only  to  drop  back 
to  12  cents  in  May,  1912,  about  the  time  farmers  would 
have  begun  to  reap  the  lion's  share  of  profits. 

True,  there  was  a  "cheese  board,"  or  exchange,  at  each 
cheese-making  center  where  the  cheese  makers  got  together 
to  sell  the  farmers'  cheese  and  where  the  cheese  dealers 
got  together  to  buy  it;  but  the  farmers  could  not  believe 
they  were  getting  a  square  deal.  They  believed  that  the 
cheese  dealers  were  paying  these  cheese  makers  a  bonus 
beyond  and  in  addition  to  the  official  published  price ;  and 
before  the  case  ended  the  charge  was  proved. 

"In  one  county  in  one  year,"  Mr.  Krumrey  said  to  me, 
"$400,000  went  to  the  cheese  makers.  In  an  investigation 
before  the  State  Board  of  Public  Affairs,  moreover,  the 
cheese  dealers  admitted  having  secret  meetings  to  fix 
prices.  Naturally  our  farmers  became  aroused,  and  we  had 
a  great  meeting  of  i,ooo  farmers  at  the  fair  grounds  and 


98  HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND    DOUBLE   PROFITS 

started  a  movement  for  co-operative  cheese  factories.  The 
result  is  that  forty-three  have  been  started  in  that  one. 
county,  all  federated  in  the  'Sheboygan  County  Cheese 
Producers'  Association.' 

"Each  local  association  incorporates  under  the  new  Wis- 
consin co-operative  law,  each  member  taking  one  to  three  $i 
shares  and  no  member  having  more  than  one  vote.  Five  direc- 
tors are  elected  who  manage  the  business  and  employ  a 
cheese  maker.  Then  the  officers  of  the  county  federation 
sell  the  produce  of  the  entire  forty-four  factories,  the 
farmer  getting  just  what  his  cheese  brings  after  deducting 
one-eighth  of  a  cent  a  pound  for  selling  expenses." 

Thus  the  cheese  makers  no  longer  have  anything  to  do 
with  selling  the  product,  but  confine  themselves  to  making 
as  much  and  as  good  cheese  as  they  can  from  the  milk  the 
farmers  furnish  them;  and  the  farmers  are  getting  ready 
to  standardize  their  product,  insist  upon  high  quality  at  all 
times,  have  a  registered  trade-mark,  and  capitalize  this 
reputation  for  quality. 

Ill 

The  co-operative  live  stock  shipping  association  is  an- 
other notable  development  in  many  parts  of  the  West, 
about  the  best  example  I  found  being  at  Litchfield,  Minn. 
One  form  of  co-operation  usually  leads  to  another,  and  this 
live  stock  shipping  association  was  the  outgrowth  of  the 
successful  creamery  at  Litchfield. 

"Has  it  paid  you?"  I  asked  farmer  N.  E.  Christensen, 
president  of  the  organization,  as  he  drove  up  with  a  load 
of  hogs. 

"Well,  I  guess  yes !"  was  his  emphatic  reply  as  he  waited 
his  turn  at  the  wagon  scales.  "Why,  before  we  farmers 
organized  to  ship  our  own  stock,  we  had  to  support  four 
or  five  stock  buyers  here  seven  days  in  the  week.  That  is 
to  say,  the  profits  on  our  business  had  to  support  them. 
Now  all  our  farmers  ship  their  stock  together  on  Tuesdays, 
and  our  only  expense  is  to  pay  Mr.  Halverson  for  work  one 


MORE    CO-OPERATION    STORIES    FROM    THE    NORTHWEST      99 

day  in  each  week,  so  far  as  buying  is  concerned;  and  the 
saving  goes  into  our  pockets." 

"There  are  many  other  advantages,"  Mr.  Christensen 
continued.  "Under  the  old  system  a  farmer  might  be  pes- 
tered with  visits  from  buyers  when  he  didn't  want  them, 
and  again  he  might  have  stock  ready  for  market  a  whole 
month  before  a  buyer  would  call.  Again,  old-time  buyers 
made  little  difference  in  favor  of  quality  animals.  One 
man  might  have  fattened  his  hogs  carefully  and  another 
might  have  fed  his  chiefly  on  the  northwest  wind,  but  the 
old-time  buyer  averaged  them  up  together,  good,  bad  and 
worse,  and  let  it  go  at  that.  Now,  everything  is  graded. 
See  that  mark  Halverson  is  putting  on  that  calf  there? 
That  means  he  will  get  a  specific  report  as  to  the  grade  in 
which  he  is  put  at  the  stock  yard." 

Last  year,  according  to  the  figures  given  me  by  Mr. 
Halverson,  the  manager,  this  association  shipped  6,380 
hogs,  1,515  cattle,  1,972  veal  calves  and  1,047  sheep — a  total 
of  10,909  animals,  or  146  cars  in  all,  as  compared  wath  14 
cars  in  1901,  the  year  of  organization.  Mr.  Halverson,  who 
is  also  manager  of  the  creamery,  is  released  from  his  cream- 
ery work  Tuesdays  to  receive,  weigh  and  load  the  stock. 
They  are  then  shipped — on  Tuesday  evenings,  I  believe — 
to  St.  Paul  or  Minneapolis,  and  he  goes  down  and  spends 
Wednesday  selling  them.  On  his  return  he  mails  each 
farmer  a  check  for  the  amount  of  his  sales,  less  six  cents  per 
hundredweight  to  cover  Mr.  Halverson's  expenses  and  all 
other  expenses  of  the  shipping  association.  This  payment 
of  six  cents  per  hundredweight,  live  weight  (or  about  one- 
sixteenth  of  a  cent  a  pound)  pays  for  everything;  the 
farmers  know  they  are  getting  exactly  what  their  stock  is 
worth ;   and  they  get  cash  for  their  sales. 

No  wonder  such  live  stock  shipping  associations  are  be- 
coming popular  all  over  the  West.  In,  Svea  they  organ- 
ized one  three  years  ago,  and  it  has  been  a  notable  success 
from  the  beginning;  and  I  found  another  strikingly  suc- 
cessful one  at  work  in  Dassell,  Minn. 


CHAPTER  XII 

CO-OPERATION   TO    GET   BETTER   PRICES   FOR 
COTTON  AND  COTTONSEED 

^(i)  How  Warehousing  Prevents  Enormous  Weather  Dam- 
age; (2)  Importance  of  Making  Store  Accounts  Mature 
Throughout  Cotton-Selling  Season;  (s)  Evidence  of  Cot- 
ton Buyers'  Trusts  in  Southern  Markets;  (4)  Proof  That 
Farmers  Don't  Get  Benefit  of  Grades  Above  Middling; 
(§)  Cottonseed  Prices  Ranging  from  $16  to  $33  Same  Day 
— The  Co-operative  Warehouse  the  One  Sure  Remedy 

MCLLIONS  of  dollars  have  been  lost  to  our  south- 
ern cotton  growers  by  poor  methods  of  market- 
ing, and  many  millions  more  will  doubtless  be 
lost  before  our  farmers   adopt  the  co-operative 
remedies  necessary  to  bring  about  a  change.     Four  great 
needs  are : 

(i)  Proper  housing  of  the  crop  so  as  to  prevent  damage 
to  quality  of  lint. 

(2)  Plans  to  prevent  the  depression  of  prices  by  the 
"distressed  cotton"  of  the  early  and  middle  fall. 

(3)  Plans  which  will  enable  farmers  to  get  the  benefit 
of  grades  above  middling. 

(4)  Plans  for  selling  cotton  and  cottonseed  co-operatively 
in  large  quantities  so  as  to  reduce  the  losses  incurred  by 
supporting  the  present  unnecessarily  vast  army  of  buyers. 

And  all  these  considerations  point  directly  to  the  need  of 
farmers'  co-operative  cotton  warehouses. 

I 

We  mention  first  of  all  (not  because  it  is  first  in  impor- 
tance but  because  it  happens  to  come  first  in  actual  opera- 

100 


BETTER   PRICES   FOR   COTTON    AND   COTTONSEED  101 

tion)  the  need  for  better  housing  of  the  cotton  crop,  which 
can  best  be  effected  through  co-operative  warehousing. 

Consider  these  two  illustrations  which  Prof.  Thomas 
Nelson  recently  found  on  the  writer's  home  market : 

In  the  first  case,  the  owner  had  thirty-three  bales  of 
cotton  from  which  776  pounds  of  damaged  cotton  were 
picked.  This  damage  was  due  to  the  bales  lying  out  in  the 
weather;  and  while  the  rest  of  the  lint  sold  for  11^  cents 
a  pound,  the  776  pounds  of  damaged  lint  brought  only  two 
cents  a  pound — and  the  picking  itself  cost  $16.50  extra. 

In  other  words,  there  was  a  loss  of  9^  cents  a  pound  in 
the  price  of  this  damaged  lint  or — 

776  pounds  at  loss  of  95^  cents $74.69 

Cost  of  picking  over  33  bales  at  50  cents  per  bale 16.50 

Total  loss $91.19 

Loss  per  bale,  $2.76. 

In  this  case  the  loss  from  weather  damage  amounted  to 
practically  one-half  cent  a  pound. 

In  another  shipment  of  319  weather  damaged  bales  on  the 
same  market,  it  was  found  necessary  to  pick  off  37,386 
pounds  of  damaged  cotton,  which  sold  for  only  seven  cents, 
whereas  the  rest  of  the  lint  brought  12^/^  cents.  The  total 
weather  difmage  loss  on  these  319  bales  by  leaving  them 
outdoors  after  ginning  was  thus  $2,056.23,  or  $6.65  a  bale — 
nearly  lyz  cents  a  pound. 

II 

As  a  rule,  however,  the  farmer  is  not  required  to  pick 
the  damaged  cotton  from  the  rest.  The  buyer  simply 
grades  the  whole  bale  lower,  and  the  farmer  who  thinks 
he  has  been  fooling  somebody  into  paying  10  or  12  cents  a 
pound  for  water  doesn't  realize  that  he  has  lost  $10  in 
grade  for  every  imaginary  $1  he  has  gained  in  weight. 
Upon  this  point  it  may  be  well  to  quote  what  Mr.  C.  C. 
Moore,  once  a  leader  in  the  Southern  Cotton  Association, 


102         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

tells  me  he  heard  a  representative  of  a  cotton-exporting 
firm  say  on  one  occasion : 

"The  man  said  he  was  in  the  employ  of  a  cotton  exporting  firm ;  that 
they  bought  cotton  direct  from  farmers ;  that  the  farmer  would  not  pro- 
tect his  cotton  from  the  earth  and  weather  after  ginning;  that  cotton 
bales  were  always  damaged  from  lying  on  the  ground,  and  that  when 
offered  for  sale,  the  buyer  makes  a  guess  at  the  damage,  always  guess- 
ing so  as  to  protect  himself  from  loss.  For  instance,  if  the  buyer  be- 
lieves there  is  five  pounds  damaged  on  a  bale,  he  deducts  ten  pounds 
or  more;  or  if  the  damage  perhaps  is  twenty  pounds  he  deducts 
forty  or  fifty  pounds  and  fixes  the  price  of  the  whole  bale  with  a  view 
to  making  this  deduction." 

In  any  case,  Brother  Farmer,  don't  fool  yourself  into 
believing  that  the  cotton  manufacturers  and  cotton  buyers 
are  big  enough  fools  to  pay  you  12  or  15  cents  a  pound  for 
water.  They  are  not.  Make  up  your  mind  now  that 
whether  or  not  you  warehouse  your  cotton  this  year,  you 
will  at  least  put  it  under  shelter  in  a  thoroughly  dry  place, 
thereby  avoiding  weather  damage  and  leaving  you  in  a 
position  to  get  topnotch  prices  for  the  grade  represented. 

Ill 

In  the  matter  of  plans  to  prevent  the  flooding  of  the  mar- 
ket at  the  height  of  the  picking  season  in  the  fall,  there  is 
need  both  for  a  new  system  of  maturing  payments  for  fer- 
tilizer and  supplies  and  for  a  more  extensive  warehousing 
system. 

Instead  of  our  tenants  and  our  poor  farmers  being  forced 
to  sell  their  crops  on  glutted  markets  every  year  in  order 
to  settle  accounts  falling  due  from  October  15  to  Novem- 
ber 15,  it  would  be  better  if  such  accounts  matured  one-third 
November  i,  one-third  January  i,  and  one-third  February 
I — or  something  like  that.  Even  having  one-half  fall  due 
November  i  and  one-half  January  i  would  be  a  vast  im- 
provement over  present  policies.  The  Farmers'  Union  and 
other  organized  agencies  of  the  farmers  would  do  well  to 
push  a  movement  to  this  effect. 


BETTER  PRICES   FOR   COTTON    AND   COTTONSEED  103 

Warehousing  cotton  would  indeed  afford  relief  to  many- 
farmers  in  this  class,  even  under  present  conditions,  be- 
cause many  of  them  could  borrow  enough  on  their  ware- 
house receipts  to  pay  what  they  owe,  leaving  the  cotton  to 
be  actually  sold  later  when  better  market  conditions  are 
likely  to  prevail.  Again,  there  are  many  farmers  not  han- 
dicapped by  debt  but  who  wish  to  make  purchases  early 
in  the  picking  season,  and  who  therefore  sell  their  crop 
early  in  order  to  get  the  ready  money.  The  warehousing 
plan  enables  them  also  to  get  the  needed  money  without 
helping  glut  the  market  and  depress  prices. 

IV 

As  for  our  third  proposition,  how  to  help  the  farmer  get 
the  benefit  of  higher  prices  for  his  better  grades,  the  first 
thing  needful  in  this  respect  is  to  have  sufficient  competi- 
tion in  the  market  where  he  sells. 

A  friend  came  into  my  office  the  other  day  and  said: 
"You  ought  to  go  down  to  the  city  cotton  market  here 
and  see  how  the  game  is  worked.  The  buyers  stand  out 
in  the  middle  of  the  street  looking  for  the  wagons  as  they 
come  into  sight.  When  a  buyer  first  glimpses  a  load  com- 
ing, he  says,  'Cotton !'  as  quick  as  he  can,  and  that  means  it 
is  his  cotton  because  he  saw  it  first.  The  other  buyers  will 
not  bid  against  him.  I  was  just  down  there  when  two  buy- 
ers saw  their  farmer-game  almost  at  the  same  time  and 
both  called  'Cotton !'  almost  in  the  same  breath.  So  they 
were  about  to  have  a  dispute  about  it  but  tossed  up  a  coin, 
and  the  man  who  won  walked  up  and  took  the  farmer's 
bales  without  opposition." 

I  went  down  unrecognized  and  found  it  just  as  my  friend 
had  described.  There  was  no  semblance  of  competition 
among  the  buyers.  I  saw  a  buyer  sight  a  load  coming  into 
view  while  he  was  talking  with  a  farmer,  and  while  he  could 
not  call  out  "Cotton"  quite  so  openly  as  when  alone  with 
his  brother  buyers,  he  carried  his  point  by  singing  out. 


104        HOW  FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE   PROFITS 

"Cotton  coming  around  the  corner!"  and  so  walked  up  and 
took  the  load  while  the  other  buyers  paid  no  more  attention 
to  it  than  if  they  had  been  put  there  to  buy  meat  instead 
of  cotton.  Of  course,  the  signals  vary  in  different  mar- 
kets and  with  different  seasons. 

To  the  same  effect  is  this  testimony  given  by  Mr.  J.  B. 
Watt  of  Charlotte,  N.  C,  who  says : 

"I  had  eleven  bales  of  good  middling  cotton  on  the  Charlotte  market 
October  1st,  and  tendered  it  for  sale,  and  13>4  was  the  highest  bid 
offered  on  the  street.  I  was  given  to  understand,  though,  if  I  got  a 
better  bid  they  (the  street  buyers)  would  better  it.  I  succeeded  in 
getting  a  bid  of  14  cents,  in  consequence  of  which  the  same  buyer  who 
refused  to  raise  the  price  made  an  offer  of  14.05." 

Mr.  Watt  evidently  means  that  he  first  got  the  higher 
offer  from  the  representatives  of  some  cotton  mill  or  other 
outside  party  before  the  regular  buyers  would  offer  the  14 
cents  he  was  entitled  to.  Most  farmers,  of  course,  simply 
take  what  is  offered. 

V 

When  such  conditions  prevail,  there  is  nothing  to  prevent 
the  individual  buyer  from  cheating  the  farmer  just  as  much 
as  the  grower's  ignorance  will  permit,  both  on  grades  and 
prices.  Mr.  Charles  J.  Brand,  head  of  the  Bureau  of  Mar- 
kets, United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  said  last 
year  that  in  Penfield,  Ga.,  where  the  farmers  were  not  well- 
informed,  he  found  long-staple  cotton  selling  for  two  cents 
a  pound  or  $10  a  bale  less  than  it  was  bringing  in  Harts- 
ville,  S.  C,  where  Mr.  David  R.  Coker,  the  famous  long- 
staple  grower,  is  helping  the  farmers  to  get  the  prices  their 
grades  entitle  them  to.  Mr.  Brand  also  tells  of  a  cotton 
buyer  who  was  asked  at  the  best  of  the  cotton  season  last 
year  as  to  the  grades  of  cotton  he  had  been  buying.  His 
answer  was :  "Well,  I  haven't  been  grading  in  buying  so 
far,  but  just  taking  everything  as  middling.  I  shall  begin 
grading,  however,  from  now  on."     The  explanation  was 


BETTER   PRICES   FOR   COTTON    AND   COTTONSEED  105 

that  fine  cotton  had  been  coming  in  up  to  that  time,  much 
of  it  strict  middling  and  good  middling  and  middling  fair, 
and  he  had  not  given  the  farmer  the  benefit  of  any  price 
above  middling.  Now  that  poorer  grades  were  coming 
in,  however,  he  was  ready  to  grade  down  to  the  uttermost. 
Consider,  too,  this  specimen  letter  which  I  received  from 
Mr.  W.  L.  Green  of  Meridian,  Miss.,  in  October,  1913: 

"Now  as  to  the  grades.  From  what  I  learn  there  are  about  as  many 
grades  above  middling  as  there  are  below.  I  have  before  me  the  quota- 
tions of  the  New  Orleans  market  for  September  22.  Middling  is 
quoted  at  13^  cents  and  fair  at  15^  cents,  a  difference  of  IH  cents. 
Now,  what  I  am  driving  at  is  that  the  merchants  of  Meridian  will 
never  pay  the  farmer  above  middling  for  any  cotton." 

Small  wonder  that  one  of  the  most  thoughtful  agricul- 
tural leaders  in  the  South  recently  remarked  to  the  writer : 
"I  am  convinced  that  cotton  buyers  get  half  of  the  increased 
prices  that  the  mills  pay  for  grades  above  average  quality." 
In  other  words,  under  our  present  system  half  the  hard- 
earned  wealth  the  farmer  creates  in  quality  of  staple  is 
confiscated  by  buyers  instead  of  going  to  the  grower's 
needy  wife  and  children.  Our  friend  then  gave  us  an  illus- 
tration: "I  was  in  a  cotton  buyer's  office  last  fall,"  he 
said,  "when  a  farmer  came  in  with  a  few  bales  to  sell. 
Ordinary  cotton  was  going  at  12  cents  and  a  fraction,  but 
the  buyer  told  the  farmer  that  as  these  bales  were  of 
superior  staple  he  would  pay  14  cents,  or  two  cents  extra 
per  pound.  And  then  Mr.  Buyer  told  me  that  the  cotton 
was  really  worth  18  cents,  or  nearly  six  cents  extra  in  the 
pound." 

In  other  words,  on  each  500-pound  bale  the  buyer  made 
$20  clear  profit  by  two  minutes'  sharp  practice  or  about 
one-third  as  much  as  the  farmer  and  his  family  had  made 
through  a  year  of  weary  toiling  and  planning — breaking  the 
land  in  winter's  cold ;  preparing,  fertilizing,  planting  in 
spring;  hoeing  and  cultivating  under  summer  suns;  and 
laboriously  picking  the  crop  in  the  fall. 


106         HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

How  long  will  a  free  people  submit  to  such  a  system? 
How  long  will  our  cotton  growers  be  content  to  be  mere 
laborers,  surrendering  all  the  business-side  of  farming  to 
alien  interests? 

It  is  true  of  scores  of  markets  all  over  the  South  that 
there  is  no  real  competition  among  the  buyers.  The  writer 
has  already  noted  the  private  signaling  by  means  of  which 
buyers  "divide  the  spoils"  as  the  farmer's  cotton  comes  in 
sight.  Buyer  A  makes  his  bid  and  Buyers  B,  jC,  D  and  E 
do  not  interfere,  for  they  will  take  their  turns  with  later 
bales.  And  with  such  a  system  it  is  always  possible  for 
the  shrewd  buyer  to  get  the  farmer's  cotton  for  much  less 
than  its  real  worth.  We  know,  of  course,  that  many  honest 
buyers  will  not  take  advantage  of  the  weak,  but  it  is  not 
fair  for  the  laborer  to  be  thrown  bound  and  helpless  before 
whomsoever  wishes  to  plunder  him.  And  it  is  not  fair  to 
honest  cotton  buyers  for  them  to  have  to  compete  with  dis- 
honest ones  when  conditions  give  such  an  advantage  to 
dishonesty. 

VI 

In  this  connection  it  would  be  well  for  every  cotton 
farmer  to  send  five  cents  in  stamps  for  a  copy  of  the  bul- 
letin, "Studies  of  Primary  Cotton  Marketing  Conditions  in 
Oklahoma,"  recently  issued  by  the  Bureau  of  Markets, 
United  States  Department  of  Agriculture. 

This  bulletin  based  on  careful,  authoritative  studies  in  the 
marketing  season  of  1912,  not  only  shows  wide  variations 
in  cotton  prices  in  different  towns  on  the  same  day,  but 
also  proves  that  equally  wide  variations  may  frequently 
exist  in  the  same  town  at  the  same  hour.  A  farmer  who  is 
well  informed  as  to  market  conditions  and  the  value  of 
grades,  or  a  farmer  who  is  selling  in  a  pool  with  a  group  of 
farmers  who  know,  may  receive  several  dollars  more  a  bale 
for  the  same  grade  of  cotton  than  a  more  ignorant  farmer 
selling  alone  will  receive  in  the  same  town  at  the  same  hour. 


BETTER   PRICES   FOR   COTTON    AND   COTTONSEED  107 

Here,  for  example,  are  the  figures  collected  by  Mr.  Brand 
and  his  several  assistants  in  Oklahoma,  showing  the  varia- 
tions in  prices  paid  for  strict  low  middling  cotton  in  the 
same  town  on  the  same  day — that  is  to  say,  the  difference 
between  the  prices  some  farmers  received  and  the  prices 
some  other  farmers  received  for  the  same  grade  of  cotton, 
the  same  day,  figured  out  on  the  basis  of  500-pound  bales : 

Variation  Tariatlon 

Town  per  bale  Town  per  bale 

Okemah   $2.50  Terral  $4.20 

Mountain  Park 3.75  Erick 4.69 

Norman   3.75  Caddo  4.75 

Porter 4.37  Snyder   6.75 

Norman 5.00  Erick 6.25 

Duncan  10.00  Terral  4.50 

Waurika 3.00  Wellston    2.50 

Think  of  it — some  farmers  in  Duncan,  Okla.,  received 
$10  less  a  bale  for  strict  low  middling  cotton  than  other 
farmers  received  for  the  same  grade  on  the  same  day — 
December  2,  1912!  And  in  Terral,  Okla.,  November 
12,  the  variation  in  prices  paid  for  low  middling  amounted 
to  $12.50  per  bale.  And  worst  of  all,  in  Mangum,  Okla., 
November  7,  with  twenty-seven  buyers  in  town,  the 
lowest  price  paid  for  good  ordinary  was  $19.25  less  per  500- 
pound  bale  than  some  other  good  ordinary  cotton  fetched 
the  same  day !  How  long  will  cotton  growers  endure  such 
conditions? 

As  this  bulletin  goes  on  to  say,  all  this  enormous  loss 
falls,  for  the  most  part,  on  those  least  able  to  bear  it,  and 
whose  families  are  least  able  to  bear  it — the  more  ignorant 
farmers  or  those  who  are  forced  to  sell.     We  quote : 

"If  buyer  and  seller  were  equally  informed  as  to  the  grade  of  the 
bales  offered,  and  if  the  sale  of  the  individual  bale  were  a  matter  of 
no  more  importance  to  the  farmer  than  its  purchase  is  to  the  buyer, 
such  conditions  could  not  exist.  The  farmer  is  necessarily  under  some 
pressure  to  sell  after  he  has  brought  his  bale  to  town.  If  he  does  not 
do  so  he  has  lost  a  day's  time,  and  has  no  assurance  that  his  next  at- 
tempt to  sell  will  be  productive  of  better  results.    Furthermore,  he  is 


108         HOW   FAEMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE  PROFITS 

not  well  enough  versed  in  cotton  grading  to  know  exactly  what  his  bale 
ought  to  bring,  or  whether  the  price  offered  is  a  fair  one. 

"The  conclusion  is  irresistible  that  the  burden  of  the  great  discrep- 
ancies in  the  prices  paid  for  each  standard  grade  must  fall  most  heavily 
upon  those  producers  who  are  most  ignorant  of  cotton  grading  and 
who  are  under  the  greatest  pressure  to  sell." 

VII 

The  two  supreme  facts  brought  out  in  this  remarkable 
study  of  cotton  marketing  in  Oklahoma — and  the  conditions 
there  are  typical — are : 

(i)  That  farmers  marketing  individually  have  no  guar- 
antee that  they  will  receive  the  value  of  their  lint.  Perhaps 
a  few  farmers  in  the  cases  just  mentioned  did  receive  a  little 
more  than  their  grade  justified,  but  we  all  know  that  buyers 
are  too  intelligent  for  this  to  happen  often.  The  conclusion 
is,  therefore,  irresistible  that  if  the  highest  prices  were  only 
just  about  right,  the  lowest  ones  were  grossly  unjust  to  the 
growers — amounting  almost  to  sheer  robbery  of  the 
ignorant. 

(2)  The  farmer  does  not  get  the  benefit  of  the  higher 
prices  he  should  receive  for  grades  above  middling.  This 
fact  is  emphasized  and  re-emphasized  in  the  bulletin  from 
which  we  are  quoting.  "The  cotton  trade  in  Oklahoma,"  we 
are  told,  "recognizes  no  grade  above  good  middling,  although 
many  thousand  bales  of  higher  grade  are  produced.  In 
some  cases  the  bulk  of  the  cotton  is  bought  as  middling  for 
weeks  at  a  time,  when  a  large  majority  of  the  bales  are 
actually  above  that  grade."  Note  this  language — "a  large 
majority  of  the  bales"  for  weeks  at  a  time  above 
middling,  when  middling  price  is  the  highest  the  farmer 
gets!  The  conclusions  of  the  whole  matter  are  set  forth 
by  the  authors  of  this  bulletin  in  the  following  language : 

"The  greatest  losses  to  the  farmers  under  the  present  system  of 
marketing  appear  to  lie  in  their  failure  to  secure  the  premium  for  their 
high  grades  which  these  bales  finally  bring.  No  reHef  from  this  con- 
dition can  be  expected  while  grading  is  wholly  in  the  hands  of  the 


BETTER  PRICES   FOR   COTTON    AND   COTTONSEED  109 

buyers.  As  long  as  this  is  the  case,  the  cotton  will  never  be  closely- 
graded  until  after  it  has  left  the  grower's  possession.  Co-operation 
among  growers,  if  properly  organized,  would  probably  furnish  some 
measure  of  relief,  but  under  present  conditions  a  rather  expensive 
selling  department  would  probably  be  necessary." 

VIII 

But  the  cotton  farmer's  loss  does  not  stop  with  the  lint. 
He  also  loses  untold  thousands  of  dollars  every  year 
through  lack  of  system  in  marketing  his  cottonseed.  Abun- 
dant proof  of  this  fact  is  found  in  reports  sent  the  writer  by 
farmers  in  various  parts  of  the  South  as  to  cottonseed  prices 
on  Saturday,  November  29,  and  Monday,  December  i,  1913. 

A  glance  at  these  reports  will  prove  interesting.  Letter 
No.  I  came  from  a  farmer  who  said:  "Our  neighbors 
clubbed  up  and  sold  5,000  bushels  at  $33.33%  per  ton,  or  at 
50  cents  per  bushel.     Co-operation,  you  see." 

The  next  letter  came  from  A.  C.  McAnally,  Cleveland, 
Ala.,  who  said :  "Cottonseed  are  worth  $25  a  ton  here  to- 
day at  the  wagon." 

Mr.  G.  W.  Wilson  of  Mt.  Pleasant,  S.  C,  wrote :  "The 
Sea  Island  Cotton  Oil  Company  of  Charleton  is  paying  $30 
per  ton  for  seed  today,  and  they  furnish  sacks  free  and 
deliver  them  at  gin." 

This  came  from  Mr.  F.  B.  Cameron,  McKinney,  Texas: 
"The  oil  mill  and  gins  here  are  paying  the  farmers  $20  per 
ton.  The  gins  pay  the  farmers  just  as  much  as  the  oil  mill 
and  haul  the  seed.  It  looks  like  a  'stand  in.'  Surely  the 
gins  cannot  afford  to  do  the  hauling  and  sell  for  the  price 
the  mill  pays  the  farmer.  I  think  we  farmers  need  a  little 
co-operation  in  this  seed  business;  also  in  the  lint  cotton." 

Mr.  G.  T.  Gresham,  Eulonia,  S.  C,  was  next,  naming  the 
price  there  $30  a  ton. 

The  same  price  was  reported  by  Mr.  L.  C.  Holler,  David- 
son, N.  C. 

The  very  next  letter  was  from  W.  C.  Andrews,  Grady, 
-Ark.,  who  said:     "We  have  been  getting  $16  per  ton  for 


110        HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

about  a  month.  Both  gins  buy  seed  but  have  no  competi- 
tion. No  provision  is  made  for  disposing  of  it  except  when 
ginned," 

With  variations  from  $i6  to  $33  a  ton,  it  is  clearly  high 
time  for  farmers  to  co-operate  in  selling  cottonseed,  as  well 
as  cotton. 

IX 

What  is  needed  is  a  co-operative  farmers'  warehouse  in 
every  market  of  sufficient  size  in  which  farmers  can  store 
their  cotton,  have  it  graded  by  an  expert  grader,  and  sell  it 
on  special  days  in  100  to  500-bale  lots,  getting  representa- 
tives of  the  cotton  exporters,  and  cotton  mills,  if  possible, 
to  attend.  If  it  is  too  expensive  to  keep  a  warehouse  just 
for  cotton,  make  it  a  storehouse  for  fertilizers  in  spring  and 
rent  space  for  other  purposes  in  other  seasons.  Or  if  there 
is  no  warehouse,  organize  the  farmers  and  let  all  members 
of  the  organization  market  together  one  or  two  days  in 
each  week. 

Somewhat  more  elaborate  are  the  views  of  Judge  Lind- 
sey  of  the  Texas  Farm  Life  Commission,  He  believes,  as 
the  writer  has  advocated,  that  there  should  be  co-operative 
cotton  gins  as  well  as  co-operative  cotton  warehouses,  and 
goes  on  to  say: 

"On  the  same  plan  that  gins  are  organized,  but  on  a  larger  scale, 
organize  or  reorganize  warehouses.  Say  there  are  thirty  co-operative 
gins  in  a  county;  all  these  associations  should  join  together  in  a 
warehouse  association.  At  the  time  cotton  is  stored  it  should  come 
tinder  insurance  protection  carried  by  the  warehouse  association,  and 
each  bale  should  be  carefully  and  correctly  weighed,  graded  and  given 
a  warehouse  number,  all  of  which  should  be  entered  on  the  books 
of  the  warehouse  and  on  the  receipt  issued  to  the  owner  of  the  cotton. 
With  this  information  the  owner  and  holder  of  the  receipt  can  readily 
follow  the  values  of  his  cotton  from  day  to  day  by  the  market  reports 
and  sell  when  he  so  desires  by  merely  transferring  his  receipt." 

The  number  of  buyers  who  must  be  supported  under  the 


BETTER  PRICES   FOR   COTTON    AND   COTTONSEED  111 

present  system  of  selling  also  makes  the  buyer's  margin  of 
profit  absolutely  excessive.  We  have  already  commented 
on  the  veritable  army  of  cotton  buyers  in  Memphis,  Tenn., 
as  an  example  of  the  wastefulness  of  present  methods. 

When  the  writer  was  in  Minnesota  he  found  that  through 
co-operative  live  stock  selling  the  stockmen  there  are  now 
supporting  only  one  buyer  to  the  town  (and  he  is  the 
farmers'  own  man  responsible  to  them  for  his  actions)  in- 
stead of  four  or  five  buyers  as  previously,  responsible  to  no 
one.     When  will  our  cotton  farmers  learn  the  same  lesson  ? 

X 

Finally,  we  may  summarize  our  conclusions  by  saying: 
(i)   No  cotton  should  be  allowed  to  lie  out  in  the  weather. 
You  will  be  sacrificing  $io  in  grade  for  every  $i  you  im- 
agine you  will  gain  in  weight. 

(2)  The  present  system  of  individual  selling  of  cotton 
must  go — "everybody  for  himself  and  the  devil  take  the 
hindmost."  There  are  too  many  of  the  "hindmost"  who 
catch  the  gentleman  aforementioned;  and  there  are  too 
many  unnecessary  middlemen  to  support.  Cotton  farmers 
must  organize  to  sell  co-operatively  on  special  days  and  in 
large  quantities. 

(3)  They  should  have  their  cotton  graded  by  an  expert 
and  impartial  grader. 

(4)  They  should  see  to  it  that  they  get  the  benefit  of 
higher  prices  for  grades  above  middling  as  well  as  bear 
the  losses  on  grades  below  middling. 

(5)  Especially  in  long-staple  cotton  is  careful  grading  of 
the  highest  importance. 

(6)  Farmers  should  get  reports  of  what  all  available 
market  towns  are  paying  and  find  out  whether  in  any  of 
them  prices  are  being  held  down  by  a  buyers'  "trust,"  act- 
ing without  competition.  In  such  cases  they  should  appeal 
to  the  business  men  and  commercial  bodies  of  the  town 


112        HOW  FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 


!j 


for  help.    These  business  men  will  realize  that  such  methods 
will  cause  farmers  to  boycott  the  town  and  hurt  trade. 

(7)  Farmers  and  tenants  should  be  encouraged  to  have 
their  bills  fall  due  in  two  or  three  payments  instead  of  hav- 
ing to  settle  everything  around  November  i. 

(8)  The  same  co-operation  recommended  for  practice  in   |( 
selling  lint  should  also  be  observed  in  selling  cottonseed, 
and  the  co-operative  warehouse  should  handle  both  lint 
and  seed. 

(9)  These  and  other  plans  should  be  discussed  in  your 
Farmers'  Union  or  other  farmers'  organizations ;  and  if  the 
farmers  are  not  organized  in  your  community,  this  will 
be  a  good  object  to  organize  them  on.  Farmers  fighting 
single-handed  can  never  bring  about  the  reforms  needed 
for  their  relief. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

A    $5,000,000    TRUCK    MARKETING    ASSOCIATION 

IN  VIRGINIA 

A  First-Hand  Account  of  the  Famous  "Eastern  Shore  Produce 
Exchange" — Averages  a  Carload  of  Potatoes  for  Every 
Hour  in  the  Year — A  Wonderful  Business  Organization 
Which  Maintains  Agencies  in  All  the  Great  Centers  and 
Has  Lessons  for  Co-operative  Societies  Everywhere. 

I  RECKON    that's    the    court    house,"    said    Professor 
Camp  to  me  as  we  walked  through  the  little  town  of 
Onley,  in  the  eastern  shore  of  Virginia,  and  came  in 
sight  of  the  handsomest  building  in  the  place.     But  it 
wasn't  the  court  house  at  all.     It  was  the  home  office  of 
the  "Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  Produce  Exchange,"  as  a 
large  sign  across  the  front  quickly  informed  us. 

The  building  itself  is  pretty  tangible  proof  that  this  idea 
of  co-operative  marketing  is  getting  in  the  air,  and  not  only 
getting  in  the  air,  but  getting  very  substantially  rooted 
in  the  good  earth  of  everyday  business.  And  the  proof  is 
even  more  convincing  when  I  say  that  from  this  building 
this  Eastern  Shore  Produce  Exchange  handles  about  $5,000,000 
worth  of  business  annually,  shipping  on  an  average  more 
than  one  carload  of  potatoes  for  every  hour  in  the  year. 

How  the  Exchange  grew  to  such  proportions  is  naturally 
the  reader's  next  inquiry.  And  the  answer  is  in  part  that, 
like  Rome,  it  was  not  built  in  a  day.  "You  seem  to  have 
had  a  rather  easy  history,"  I  said  to  Secretary-Treasurer 
A.  J.  McMath  as  I  began  talking  with  him.  But  he  was 
quick  to  reply  that  Jordan  had  been  a  hard  road  to  travel 
for  the  Eastern  Shore  Exchange  as  well  as  for  nearly  all 
farmers'  marketing  organizations,  and  that  it  had  in  fact 

113 


114         HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE    PROFITS 

come  up  through  great  tribulation.  The  organization  was 
born  out  of  the  poverty  and  disappointments  of  these 
Eastern  Shore  Virginia  farmers — it  is  limited  to  Accomac 
and  Northampton  counties,  in  the  Cape  Charles  peninsula 
north  of  Norfolk — in  1899.  As  a  result  of  several  meetings 
held  that  year  a  committee  of  twelve  framed  recommenda- 
tions for  a  marketing  organization,  and  it  was  finally  in- 
corporated January  6,  1900.  Shares  were  fixed  at  $5  each, 
and  in  order  to  make  it  easy  to  get  members,  any  white 
grower  was  authorized  to  take  stock  by  paying  25  cents 
down,  the  remaining  $4.75  to  be  paid  by  the  end  of  the  year. 
By  August  $3,500  had  been  paid  in,  and  the  first  season's 
volume  of  business  proved,  on  the  whole,  pretty  satisfactory. 

"The  system  of  marketing  before  the  Exchange  came 
was,  in  fact,  just  about  as  bad  as  it  could  well  be,"  Mr. 
McMath  remarked  to  us.  "The  local  buyers  who  took 
the  farmers'  produce  found  it  to  their  interest  to  force 
prices  as  low  as  possible.  Ten  cents  a  barrel  was  the  usual 
commission  allowed  them  by  the  employing  houses,  and  the 
lower  the  price  at  which  they  bought,  the  more  barrels  they 
could  buy  and  the  quicker  they  could  turn  over  the  money, 
and  the  better  pleased  were  employing  officers." 

To  put  it  in  a  nutshell,  for  every  Exchange  employee 
the  farmers  are  now  supporting,  employed  by  them  to  get 
the  best  possible  prices  for  them,  the  farmers  were  then 
supporting  six  to  ten  times  as  many  local  buyers,  whoso 
activities  inevitably  resulted  in  forcing  the  lowest  possible 
prices  on  them. 

The  first  big  fact  to  consider  about  Eastern  Shore  Ex- 
change methods  is  that  it  does  not  consign  the  farmers' 
products,  leaving  the  commission  merchant  to  report  later 
what  were  the  prices  received,  but  fixes  prices  by  wire 
before  making  shipment  to  the  buyer;  and  the  farmer 
knows  the  very  next  day  how  much  per  barrel  his  potatoes 
will  fetch  him. 

Secondly,  the  Exchange  with  its  2,500  stockholders  and 
1,000  additional  patrons,  controls  75^0  of  the  potato  crop 


A  $5,000,000  MARKETING  ASSOCIATION   IN  VIRGINIA      115 

of  the  two  big  potato-producing  counties  of  Accomac  and 
Northampton,  so  that  commission  merchants  can  place 
orders  with  it,  confident  that  they  will  be  filled,  and  reason- 
ably certain  that  the  prices  paid  by  them  represent  actual 
and  stable  market  values. 

Thirdly,  the  Exchange  inspects  every  shipment,  putting 
its  registered  "Red  Star"  trade  mark  on  every  shipment 
of  No.  I  quality,  so  that  buyers  call  for  the  "Red  Star 
Brand"  and  are  willing  to  pay  a  shade  more  for  it. 

The  largest  and  most  reputable  produce  houses  North, 
East  and  West,  therefore,  had  rather  buy  from  the  Ex- 
change, even  when  other  Eastern  Shore  agents  wire  them 
the  same  prices,  (i)  because  they  know  that  with  its  big 
business  the  Exchange  will  be  surer  to  fill  their  orders, 
and  (2)  because  the  Exchange  guarantees  quality  as 
represented. 

In  order  to  explain  more  readily  the  Exchange's  method, 
let  us  describe  a  typical  day's  work  in  the  shipping  season. 
The  first  thing  the  officers  do  is  to  'phone  the  Exchange's 
forty-three  agents,  the  men  employed  to  represent  at  forty- 
three  shipping  points  scattered  all  over  the  two  counties, 
and  find  out  just  how  many  cars  will  be  offered  for  ship- 
ment. Oak  Hall,  say,  will  report  three  cars  "Star  brand," 
Tasley  one  or  two  unbranded,  Onley  five  cars  "Star,"  and 
so  on  and  so  on.  Then  the  totals  are  footed  up,  and  it  is 
"up  to"  the  Exchange  to  sell  them  for  the  growers.  By 
8  or  9  o'clock  telegrams  report  the  prevailing  New  York 
prices — and  New  York  prices,  of  course,  determine  prices 
in  a  considerable  area  around  New  York.  If  New  York 
prices  are  low,  then  the  Exchange  may  wire  its  agents  in 
Chicago,  Pittsburg,  Toronto  and  Scranton  (a  regularly  em- 
ployed agent  of  the  Exchange  is  kept  all  the  time  in  each 
of  these  places  as  well  as  in  Boston),  and  the  Exchange 
officials  will  also  wire  as  many  jobbers  in  other  cities  as  the 
size  of  the  day's  business  seems  to  require.  Perhaps  the 
telegram  will  read:     "We  offer  you  today  one  car  Red 


116         HOW   FAEMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

Star  $2  barrel."  Perhaps  a  number  of  orders  will  be  wired 
back  at  this  price,  but  some  jobbers  will  reply:  "Cannot 
pay  $2  here,  but  will  take  two  cars  at  one  ninety."  By 
I  or  2  o'clock  the  Exchange  officials  have  wired  directions 
for  shipping  most  of  the  cars,  and  they  also  know  whether 
or  not  all  the  cars  can  be  sold  at  the  $2  rate.  If  all  cannot 
be  sold  at  this  figure,  some  orders  may  be  filled  at  $1.90, 
or  perhaps  some  may  have  to  be  sold  at  $1.85,  in  markets 
where  local  conditions  will  not  justify  the  higher  price. 

Nevertheless,  it  would  be  manifestly  unfair  to  pay  one 
farmer  $1.85  and  another  $2,  when  both  had  brought  to 
Exchange  officials  the  same  grade  of  potatoes  and  at  the 
same  time.  Therefore,  it  is  the  custom  of  the  Exchange 
to  pool  prices  or  to  average  them  so  that  on  each  day's 
shipment  all  farmers  will  get  the  same  price  for  the  same 
grade  of  product.  If,  for  example,  five  cars  are  sold  at 
$1.90  and  five  at  $1.70,  the  price  paid  both  classes  of  shippers 
will  be  $1.80.  Of  course,  some  growers  produce  an  extra 
fancy  product,  however,  which  commands  superior  prices, 
and  in  such  cases  they  get  a  corresponding  premium  above 
the  average  paid  for  standard  grades. 

And  the  Exchange  does  a  big  business  not  only  in  num- 
ber of  barrels  handled  and  in  money  turned  over,  as  we  have 
already  indicated,  but  also  in  territory  served.  Let  us  take 
a  look  at  the  shipping  books  for  July  15,  1913 — a  rather 
small  day's  business,  it  is  true,  but  one  which  will  illustrate 
the  range  of  distribution.  Three  cars  were  sold  to  South 
Bend,  Ind.,  six  to  Toronto,  six  to  Providence,  three  to  Bos- 
ton, five  to  Detroit,  twenty  to  Pittsburg,  three  to  Worces- 
ter, two  to  Portland,  five  to  Scranton,  and  one  each  to 
Allentown,  Dayton,  Hartford,  Trenton,  Newark,  Roches- 
ter and  Carbondale. 

Frequently  the  Exchange's  sales,  in  a  single  day,  will  reach 
a  total  of  two  hundred  carloads,  and  the  record  day's  sales, 
made  last  season,  was  about  three  hundred  and  twenty-five 
cars  of  Irish  potatoes.     With  this  volume  of  business   the 


A  $5,000,000  MARKETING  ASSOCIATION  IN  VIRGINIA      117 

geographical  distribution  is  much  wider;  and  in  the  sweet 
potato  season  the  association  sells  from  Portland,  Me.,  to 
Tampa,  Fla.,  and  as  far  west  as  the  cities  of  the  Rocky- 
Mountains. 

Under  the  old  system  of  selling,  the  Eastern  Shore  farm- 
ers were  systematically  fleeced  (and  we  seem  to  have 
heard  that  farmers  in  unorganized  sections  are  still  sys- 
tematically robbed)  by  dishonest  commission  merchants 
who  report,  "Market  glutted  since  you  started  your  ship- 
ment; prices  all  off,"  the  commission  merchant  proceeding 
to  make  settlement  accordingly ;  or  perhaps  the  report  will 
be,  "Your  shipment  reached  us  in  bad  condition ;  will  com- 
mand only  one-half  or  two-thirds  regular  market  price." 
And  in  such  cases,  what  redress  has  the  small  unorganized 
trucker?  He  cannot  afford  to  make  a  trip  to  New  York 
or  Buffalo  or  Chicago,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  see  whether 
the  r€port  is  correct  or  not.     He  must  take  what  is  offered. 

But  the  unfaithful  produce  dealers  have  long  since  learned 
to  play  no  such  fantastic  tricks  before  the  Eastern  Shore 
Exchange.  In  the  first  place,  the  Exchange  has  regularly 
employed  representatives  in  a  list  of  cities  we  have  already 
given  (and  in  sweet  potato  season  a  man  in  Kansas  City 
and  another  in  Cincinnati),  and  any  of  these  agents  will 
immediately  investigate  any  trouble  that  is  reported  with 
any  Eastern  Shore  shipment  in  his  particular  city.  Or 
if  trouble  is  reported  in'  any  city  where  the  Eastern  Shore 
has  no  agent,  there  is  usually  one  of  these  agents  near 
enough  by  to  run  over  and  get  justice  for  the  shippers  if 
the  matter  cannot  be  arranged  by  wire.  Of  course,  after 
fourteen  years'  experience  in  the  business  Mr.  McMath 
knows  there  are  certain  dealers  whose  word  he  cannot  take. 
He  also  keeps  a  sharp  eye  for  the  financial  standing  of 
every  man  to  whom  a  shipment  is  made — as  was  indicated 
by  the  big  copies  of  Dun  and  Bradstreet  at  his  hand  as  we 
talked,  each  twice  as  big  as  an  old  Unabridged  Dictionary — 
and  he  told  me  that  he  did  not  lose  a  dollar  by  selling  to 
any  financially  unsound  dealer  last  year. 


118         HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND    DOUBLE    PROFITS 

Nor  are  the  members  of  the  Eastern  Shore  Exchange  the 
only  ones  who  benefited  by  its  activities.  "If  local  men  beat 
down  the  price  at  some  place  where  we  are  not  strongly 
organized,"  Mr.  McMath  told  me,  "we  may  go  there 
and  buy  for  our  protection.  Here's  a  case  in  point:  On 
one  occasion  when  potatoes  had  been  selling  the  day  before 
for  $2.50  a  barrel,  the  local  buyers  put  out  word  that  the 
market  had  broken  and  that  $1.75  was  the  best  price  to  be 
had.  We  found  it  out,  put  our  buyers  there  buying  shipments 
at  $2.50  and  before  night  the  price  had  advanced  to  $2.75 !" 

"What  system  have  you  for  inspecting  your  products  so 
as  to  keep  up  the  reputation  of  the  'Red  Star'  brand?"  was 
one  of  the  next  questions  we  fired  at  Mr.  McMath. 

"An  inspector  is  employed  at  every  shipping  point,"  was 
his  reply.  "He  is  required  to  examine  one  package  in  every 
five,  but  if  a  shipper  with  a  bad  reputation  should  show  up, 
the  inspector  might  examine  half  of  his  offerings.  Then, 
too,  you  must  remember  that  every  barrel  which  bears  the 
Red  Star  brand  of  quality  also  has  the  grower's  mark  on  it 
— either  his  initials  or  some  other  mark  of  identification. 
For  example,  suppose  a  bad  lot  of  potatoes  should  get  by 
the  inspector  and  complaint  should  come  back  to  the  Ex- 
change. 'What  were  the  initials  on  the  barrel?'  I  would 
ask.  Suppose  the  reply  should  be  'B.  T.  F.,'  for  example. 
Very  well ;  I  would  call  up  the  inspector  at  the  point  of  ship- 
ment and  tell  him  to  be  more  careful  about  B.  T.  F.  thereaf t-er." 

I  then  put  this  question:  "But,  suppose  there  should  be 
continued  complaints  against  B.  T.  F. ;  would  you  fire  him 
from  your  membership?" 

Mr.  McMath's  reply  was  characteristic :  "Well,  the  first 
man  we  would  fire,"  he  answered,  "would  be  the  inspector 
himself!  It's  his  job  to  keep  poor  stuff  from  getting  in 
with  first-class  stuff." 

But  any  unscrupulous  grower  has  learned  long  since  that 
it  doesn't  pay  to  try  to  pack  off  an  inferior  product  on  the 
inspector.     If  he  does,  he  may  wind  up  by  having  his  whole 


A  $5,000,000  MARKETING  ASSOCIATION  IN  VIRGINIA      119 

shipment  go  out  unbranded,  whereas  with  honest  grading- 
all  the  better  part  would  get  the  advantage  of  "Red  Star" 
quality  prices.  A  chief  inspector  has  general  oversight  of 
the  local  inspectors  and  does  much  to  keep  grading  uniform 
and  to  remind  inspectors  that  the  Exchange,  like  England  at 
Trafalgar,  "expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty." 

Finally,  we  come  to  a  consideration  of  the  business  prin- 
ciples upon  which  the  Exchange  is  conducted.  The  Ex- 
change, in  fact,  is  one  of  these  enterprises  operated  partly 
upon  capitalistic  and  partly  upon  co-operative  lines — a  sort 
of  institution  of  which  we  shall  necessarily  have  thousands 
of  examples  while  the  co-operative  idea  is  getting  itself 
understood,  and  a  greater  or  smaller  number  probably  for  the 
rest  of  the  time.  The  ideas  of  "patronage  dividends"  and 
"one  man,  one  vote,"  had  not  been  much  heard  of  in  the 
South  when  the  Exchange  began  business  fifteen  years 
ago;  and  it  has  been  necessary,  therefore,  to  graft  some 
new  ideas  on  it  and  yet  not  wholly  destroy  the  present  stock. 

Up  to  four  years  ago  all  dividends  had  been  paid  on 
stock  and  there  had  also  been  trouble  on  account  of  some 
of  the  larger  stockholders  transferring  their  shares  at  op- 
portune times  for  electing  local  agents,  etc.  Accordingly 
a  rebellion  arose — a  rank,  bitter,  riotous  sort  of  rebellion 
such  as  nobody  else  can  equal  farmers  for  raising.  The 
rebels  wanted  patronage  dividends  and  the  "one  man,  one 
vote"  principle. 

The  final  result  was  a  sort  of  compromise.  The  bigger 
stockholders  maintained  that  they  bought  stock  with  the 
understanding  that  they  would  have  one  vote  for  each  share 
— that  was,  in  fact,  a  requirement  of  the  Virginia  law  at  the 
time — and  that  all  dividends  would  go  to  stock.  So  an 
arrangement  was  voted  whereby  a  10  per  cent  dividend  is 
declared  on  stock,  and  of  the  remaining  surplus  one-half 
is  divided  up  among  all  the  shippers  in  proportion  to  the 
quantity  of  produce  shipped — as  a  patronage  dividend — and 
the  other  half  is  carried  to  the  surplus  or  reserve  fund  of 
the  Exchange. 


120        HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

But  certainly  lo  per  cent  is  as  much  as  any  such  con- 
cern should  pay  on  stock,  and  as  soon  as  the  surplus  be- 
comes large  enough  to  insure  the  Exchange  against  a 
season  of  bad  years,  not  merely  half  but  all  profits  above 
10  per  cent  on  stock  should  go  as  patronage  dividends. 

It  should  be  added,  however,  that  the  accumulation  of  a 
surplus  fund  soon  raised  the  actual  value  of  the  Exchange's 
stock  above  its  par  value,  and  that  the  price  was  raised 
accordingly.  At  present,  with  a  capital  of  $41,780  (par 
value),  the  association  has  $108,000  surplus,  and  stock  is 
issued  only  at  $15  per  share;  so  that  the  nominal  10  per 
cent  dividend  means  only  about  3%  per  cent  on  a  new 
stockholder's  money.  Moreover,  the  amount  required  to 
pay  this  dividend  (only  a  little  over  $4,000)  is  insignificant 
in  comparison  with  the  Exchange's  present  annual  business 
of  four  or  five  million  dollars. 

The  Exchange,  of  course,  "does  business  on  business 
principles,"  as  a  time-worn  but  necessary  phrase  puts  it; 
has  always  been  willing  to  pay  good  salaries  to  get  efficient, 
capable  men ;  and  uses  the  most  systematic  and  up-to-date 
methods  of  carrying  on  its  business.  We  found  the  books 
remarkably  simple  and  well  kept;  they  are  regularly 
audited  by  some  of  Virginia's  best  accountants,  and  any 
stockholder  can  take  a  look  at  them  whenever  he  feels  like  it. 

Moreover,  while  the  idea  of  patronage  dividends  was  not 
abroad  in  the  land  at  the  time  the  Exchange  was  organ- 
ized, things  were  even  then  so  arranged  that  the  profits 
would  be  distributed  with  some  rough  approximation  to 
equality.  It  has  always  been  against  the  rules  for  any  one 
man  to  own  as  much  as  one-tenth  of  the  stock,  and  most 
of  the  8,350  five-dollar  shares  (total  capital  stock,  $41,750) 
are  held  in  blocks  of  one  to  five.  All  told  there  are  about 
2,500  stockholders. 

It  should  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  Exchange 
handles  business  not  only  for  these  2,500  stockholders,  but 
also  for   about    1,000   non-members   who   have   "shipping 


A  $5,CXX),000  MARKETING  ASSOCIATION  IN  VIRGINIA      121 

privileges"  in  it.  Any  white  man,  at  any  time,  can  buy 
one  share  of  stock  at  its  cash  value  and  become  a  member 
of  the  Exchange.  White  farmers  who  do  not  care  to  do 
this,  or  negroes  who  wish  to  use  the  Exchange,  may  never- 
theless have  their  products  handled  by  it  by  paying  $i 
apiece  for  a  "shipping  privilege"  and  agreeing  to  have  all 
their  produce  handled  by  the  Exchange.  The  last  named 
requirement  is  imperative.  No  man  can  ship  today  through 
John  Smith  and  tomorrow  through  the  Exchange.  If  this 
were  permitted  the  managers  would  never  know  what  busi- 
ness to  count  on.  The  only  exception  to  this  rule  is  that 
if  local  buyers  at  any  time  offer  unjustifiably  high  prices 
for  a  product  in  order  to  get  trade  away  from  the  Exchange, 
its  officials  may  direct  the  farmer  to  take  them  up.  "These 
buyers  can't  keep  it  up  long,"  is  the  argument,  "and  we  are  per- 
fectly willing  to  give  them  plenty  of  rope  to  hang  themselves." 

Another  significant  advantage  of  co-operation  was 
brought  to  light  in  the  course  of  our  investigation  of  the 
Onley  Exchange.  Year  before  last,  just  about  ten  days 
before  its  members  would  finish  shipping  their  potatoes, 
it  was  discovered  that  the  New  Jersey  potato  growers  just 
north  of  them  were  themselves  about  to  start  bumper  ship- 
ments to  Northern  markets.  With  the  Eastern  Shore  Ex- 
change and  the  New  Jersey  growers  both  shipping  heavily 
at  once,  prices  would  naturally  have  gone  to  pieces,  prob- 
ably selling  low  throughout  the  rest  of  the  season.  But  the 
Exchange  officials  sent  word  to  the  New  Jersey  marketing 
societies,  "Please  hold  off  ten  days  till  we  can  get  through 
and  it  will  be  better  for  both  of  us."  And  so  it  worked  out, 
whereas  without  organization  the  New  Jersey  growers  and 
the  Eastern  Shore  Virginia  growers  would  simply  have  cut 
one  another's  throats,  financially. 

Of  course,  the  Exchange  doesn't  satisfy  everybody.  I 
found  one  man  who  was  very  badly  dissatisfied  with  it. 
But  after  he  had  expressed  himself  vigorously  and  pic- 
turesquely, swearing  that  some  of  the  inspectors  wouldn't 
know  how  to  hitch  up  a  plow  horse,  and  that  farmers  should 


122        HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

do  their  own  shipping  and  not  have  any  confounded  Ex- 
change inspectors  monkeying  with  their  produce,  I  asked 
him  how  many  barrels  he  shipped  through  the  Exchange. 
And  then  it  developed  that  he  wasn't  a  farmer  at  all,  but 
a  sort  of  gentleman  superintendent  of  the  universe.  Have 
you  ever  noticed  that  those  who  won't  work  and  are  failures 
themselves  always  take  great  pleasure  in  abusing  those  who 
do  work  and  succeed?  Nor  have  I  yet  had  it  explained  to 
me  why  it  matters  much  whether  a  potato  inspector  can 
hitch  up  a  horse  or  not,  provided  he  knows  potato  inspect- 
ing from  A  to  Izzard. 

"You  know  how  it  is,"  our  grumbling  citizen  called  to  a 
farmer  acquaintance  who  was  listening  to  him.  "What  did 
you  get  for  your  potato  crop  last  year?" 

"Well,  I  didn't  get  but  $i8  last  year  for  my  Irish  potatoes, 
as  you  know,"  was  the  reply,  "but  in  trucking  you  will  have 
a  spell  of  tough  luck  every  now  and  then.  But  I  have 
studied  my  business  enough  to  know  that  if  I  were  to  quit 
the  Exchange  I'd  lose  nine  times  out  of  ten." 

The  rest  of  my  story  can  be  quickly  told.  The  general 
manager  of  the  Exchange,  co-laborer  with  Mr.  McMath,  is 
Mr.  W.  A.  Burton,  and  the  business  of  the  company  is  con- 
ducted by  these  two  men  and  a  corps  of  young  associates — 
a  more  general  supervision  over  its  affairs  being  exer- 
cised by  a  board  of  thirty-three  directors.  One  director 
and  a  local  executive  board  is  elected  by  each  of  the  thirty- 
three  local  divisions  of  the  Exchange. 

All  in  all,  the  "Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  Produce  Ex- 
change" is  a  great  experiment  in  farmers'  co-operative  mar- 
keting, and  while  we  might  wish  that  it  worked  a  little  more 
fully  on  the  basis  of  patronage  dividends  and  "one  man, 
one  vote,"  we  are  reminded  of  Josh  Billings's  saying:  "It 
ain't  no  use  to  argy  ag'in  a  success !" 

And  the  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  Produce  Exchange 
is  certainly  a  success ! 


CHAPTER  XIV 

A  NORTH  CAROLINA  COUNTY  CO-OPERATION 

HAS  WAKED  UP 

The  Catawba  Farmers  Started  with  a  Co-operative  Creamery, 
and  Now  Have  Co-operative  Egg  Collecting,  Fire  Insur- 
ance, Potato  Marketing  and  a  Farmers'  Building  and  Loan 
Association — Farm  Women's  Clubs  an  Important  Factor — 
A  Co-operative  Laundry  Is  in  Prospect. 

CATAWBA  COUNTY,  North  Carolina,  is  the  finest 
example  in  the  South — so  far  as  I  know — of  what 
co-operation   will   do   for  a  community,   and  the 
heart  and  center  of  the  movement  in  Catawba  is 
the  "Catawba  Co-operative  Creamery  Company." 

This  creamery,  whose  new  building  was  recently  dedi- 
cated, was  organized  June  i,  1910.  A  statement  of  its 
progress  since  that  time  is  given  in  the  following  table : 

Number  of  patrons  when  organized 38 

Number  of  cream  patrons  now 204 

Number  of  egg  patrons,  about 400 

Amount  paid  for  butter  fat  (first  year) $14,868 

Amount  paid  for  butter  fat  (second  year) $22,015 

Amount  paid  for  butter  fat  (third  year) $32,638 

Details  of  business  for  the  year  just  ended: 

Total  sales  $51,935 

Egg  sales $16,431 

Cream  sales $10,390 

Pounds  of  butter  made 99,917 

Number  dozen  eggs  received 78,579 

Average  price  paid  for  butter  fat  for  the  year,  30c.  per  pound. 
Average  price  paid  for  eggs  for  the  year,  21c.  per  dozen. 

It  will  be  noted  that  this  is  a  combination  creamery  and 
egg-collecting  society;  and  it  is  going  to  do  a  number  of 
other  things  before  getting  grown.     The  Catawba  people 

123 


124         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE  PROFITS  ' 

j 

have  the  right  idea  in  thinking  that  when  they  have  the  «| 
machinery  for  a  business  perfected,  they  might  as  well  use  j 
this  machinery  for  all  it  is  worth.  They  hadn't  been  run-  i' 
ning  two  months  before  they  found  out  that  they  had  started  j^ 
with  too  small  a  number  of  cows  (300)  to  make  the  busi-  j] 
ness  pay  unless  they  took  on  some  side  line.  So  they  t^ 
got  together  and  decided  that  the  wagons  that  were  col-  !^ 
lecting  the  milk  from  the  patrons  might  as  well  collect  their  ' 
eggs  also;  and  this  is  what  they  proceeded  to  arrange  for.     j 

The  net  result  of  both  activities  is  that  the  farmers  have  i 
received  from  one  to  four  cents  a  dozen  extra  profit  on  their  J 
eggs  by  working  co-operatively;  and  they  have  received 
about  twice  as  much  for  their  creamery  butter  as  they  would 
have  received  for  ordinary  farm  butter.  As  I  write  this,  the 
creamery  butter  brings  from  30  to  S7  cents  a  pound,  while 
ordinary  farm  butter  is  sold  for  from  15  to  20  cents  a  pound. 

Moreover,  the  creamery,  which  started  with  $1,500  capital 
stock  borrowed  from  the  bank  ($1,000  being  spent  for 
equipment,  while  a  building  was  rented  in  which  to  conduct 
the  business),  now  has  equipment  worth  $3,500  and  their 
new  building  is  worth  $3,500  and  lot  $1,500. 

i 

i-  Perhaps  the  chief  reason  why  this  creamery  has  suc- 
ceeded so  notably  while  many  other  southern  creameries 
have  failed  ,is  that  the  Catawba  creamery  is  operated 
squarely  on  the  co-operative  principle.  Each  patron  is  ex- 
pected to  take  one  or  more  shares  of  stock  at  the  par  value 
of  $10,  but  on  this  he  receives  only  6  per  cent  interest,  all 
the  profits  being  divided  among  patrons  in  proportion  to 
the  amount  of  business  furnished.  At  one  time  profits 
were  allowed  to  accumulate  for  some  time,  so  that  at  one 
meeting  the  stockholders  found  an  accumulation  of  $1,000 
in  profits  in  the  treasury.  Now,  however,  the  plan  is  to 
pay  every  member  at  the  end  of  each  month  the  exact 
amount  realized  from  his  cream  or  eggs,  less  the  necessary 
deduction  for  the  management  and  upkeep  of  the  business. 
In  other  words,  the  patron  not  only  gets  paid  cash  for  his 


NORTH  CAROLINA  COUNTY  CO-OPERATION  HAS  WAKED  UP    125 

products  every  month,  but  he  gets  a  monthly  dividend  on 
his  investment  in  the  shape  of  increased  prices  received  for 
his  product,  through  co-operative  marketing. 

But,  of  course,  not  even  the  co-operative  principle,  or 
anything  else,  would  have  enabled  the  Catawba  creamery 
to  succeed  without  efficient,  capable  men  in  charge.  If 
most  of  the  credit  for  starting  the  enterprise  belongs  to 
Mr.  J.  A.  Conover,  certainly  most  of  the  credit  for  making 
it  a  success  belongs  to  W.  J.  Shuford,  the  wide-awake  man- 
ager, who  combines  practical  business  sense  with  vision 
and  enthusiasm.  Mr,  Shuford  looks  after  the  business  of 
buying  and  selling,  collections,  correspondence,  etc.,  attend- 
ing to  all  of  this  at  a  salary  of  $50  a  month,  in  connection 
with  his  other  business  interests.  The  butter  maker  at- 
tends to  making  the  butter,  shipping  and  receiving  cream, 
pasteurizing,  testing,  etc.,  and  has  an  assistant  who  acts 
as  bookkeeper.  As  usual,  however,  one  finds  back  of  a 
good  official  a  good  board  of  directors.  "We  have  nine 
good  men,  three  selected  each  year  for  a  three-year  term," 
said  Mr.  Shuford  to  me,  "and  the  great  secret  of  success 
is  that  they  have  worked  consistently  for  the  good  of  the 
company,  and  with  no  desire  to  unload  brothers  or  nephews 
or  special  friends  on  the  creamery." 

Cream  is  collected  three  times  a  week  at  a  cost  of  about 
2J/2  cents  per  pound  of  butter  fat.  Six  routes  are  conducted, 
and  I  was  told  that  each  driver  makes  about  twenty  miles  a 
day.  After  the  route  is  properly  developed,  the  driver  is 
paid  a  regular  salary.  Until  then  he  gets  one  cent  a  dozen 
on  all  the  eggs  he  collects;  three  cents  a  pound  on  all 
butter  fat,  and  a  commission  on  the  cream  separators  he 
sells. 

What  I  mainly  wish  to  point  out  in  writing  this  chapter, 
however,  is  how  progress  in  one  line  stimulates  progress 
in  all  lines.  I  do  not  think  it  is  too  much  to  say  that  the 
success  of  this  co-operative  creamery  has  made  Catawba 
County  a  new  county.  The  people  have  a  confidence  in 
themselves  that  they  never  had  before ;  they  have  developed 


126         HOW    FARMERS    CO-OPERATE   AND    DOUBLE    PROFITS 

a  business  ability  they  never  had  before,  and  in  the  not  dis- 
tant future  we  shall  doubtless  have  people  from  all  parts 
of  the  United  States,  and  even  from  foreign  lands,  visiting 
Catawba  County  to  see  an  example  of  what  the  spirit  of 
co-operation  will  do  for  a  farming  community.  The  people 
started  with  the  co-operative  creamery ;  then  they  began  to 
collect  eggs;  now  they  have  begun  to  ship  poultry.  A 
farmers'  mutual  insurance  association,  of  which  about  1,500 
Catawba  farmers  are  members,  has  for  years  insured  them 
against  fire  at  a  cost  of  15  cents  on  the  $100.  Moreover, 
the  creamery  patrons  buy  fertilizer  and  feed  in  carload  lots. 
Latest  of  all  is  a  Farmers'  Building  and  Loan  Association, 
and  before  a  great  while  they  will  doubtless  have  a  co- 
operative laundry  in  connection  with  the  co-operative 
creamery.  A  co-operative  selling  agency  in  connection  with 
the  creamery  is  also  being  worked  out — a  sort  of  farmers' 
exchange. 

Moreover,  from  the  Hickory  creamery  have  gone  out 
waves  of  influence  that  have  affected  all  the  citizenship  of 
the  county.  A  good  county  fair  has  been  organized.  A 
wide-awake  county  commissioner  of  agriculture  is  regularly 
employed.  There  are  thirty-five  local  tax  school  districts 
in  the  county,  and  two  townships  have  voted  $50,000  bonds 
for  road  building.  A  county  superintendent  of  schools 
gives  his  whole  time  to  the  work.  An  appropriation  for 
the  extermination  of  hookworm  disease  was  made  some 
time  ago,  with  the  result  that  one  county  commissioner  said 
that  it  was  the  best  money  he  had  ever  had  a  hand  in 
spending. 

Altogether,  therefore,  one  has  only  to  breathe  the  air  of 
Catawba  to  get  thoroughly  charged  with  the  electric  spirit 
of  progress  that  is  remaking  the  county. 

Consider,  for  example,  the  new  Farmers'  Building  and 
Loan  Association,  perhaps  the  first  thing  of  its  kind  in  the 
South.  When  Mr.  Shuford  called  a  meeting  of  men  to  help 
organize  it,  he  had  present  the  president  of  the  First  Na- 


NORTH  CAROLINA  COUNTY  CO-OPERATION  HAS  WAKED  UP    127 

tional  Bank,  the  mayor,  the  manager  of  the  Piedmont 
Wagon  Company,  and  other  leading  men  who  would  not 
have  had  any  faith  in  the  business  ability  of  farmers  five 
years  ago.  At  this  meeting  the  following  plan  for  the 
association  was  adopted : 

"The  purpose  of  the  Association  is  to  combine  the  payments  of  the 
members  into  a  fund  for  making  loans  to  each  other,  and  for  the  pur- 
pose of  buying  and  improving  lands,  buildings  and  purchase  of  imple- 
ments, machinery  and  stock,  and  for  bettering  conditions  on  the  farm. 

"The  organization  to  be  made  under  the  building  and  loan  law  of 
North  Carolina,  and  to  be  managed  by  a  board  of  directors  who,  with 
a  president,  vice-president  and  secretary  and  treasurer,  shall  have  sole 
charge  of  the  business,  subject  to  such  by-laws  and  regulations  as  the 
stockholders  shall  adopt. 

"All  money  received  shall  be  placed  in  a  general  fund,  from  which 
all  loans  shall  be  made  on  approved  real  estate  security,  or  on  the  paid- 
in  value  of  their  stock,  installments  and  interest  to  be  paid  monthly. 
The  stock  shall  be  issued  with  a  par  value  of  $100  payable  in  propor- 
tionate installments,  either  monthly,  quarterly  or  semi-annually." 

Sooner  or  later  a  co-operative  store  will  doubtless  be 
established  also;  and  as  I  have  intimated,  plans  are  now 
being  developed  whereby  patrons  who  have  anything  to 
sell  will  be  brought  into  touch  with  any  who  wish  to  buy. 
For  example,  if  one  farmer  wishes  to  buy  four  or  five  pigs 
or  ten  bushels  of  peas,  he  will  be  put  into  communication 
with  a  farmer  who  has  these  to  sell. 

"And  instead  of  sending  North  for  breakfast  strip  and 
having  our  townspeople  pay  35  cents  a  pound  for  it,"  said 
Manager  Shuford,  "we  are  going  to  arrange  to  keep  this 
money  at  home  in  the  near  future  by  doing  meat  curing 
of  the  finer  sort." 

Another  instance  of  the  progressive  spirit  of  the  Catawba 
people  and  of  their  new  faith  in  themselves  is  found  in 
the  organization  of  a  sweet  potato  marketing  association 
to  ship  and  sell  Catawba's  annual  300,000  bushel  crop. 
"We  sent  out  a  notice  the  other  day,"  said  Mr.  Shuford, 
"and  promptly  got  sixty-five  farmers  to  the  meeting.  A 
few  years  ago  not  half  a  dozen  would  have  come."     This 


128        HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

organization  will  not  only  undertake  the  marketing  of  the 
sweet  potato  crop,  but  an  effort  will  be  made  to  get  all  the 
farmers  to  grow  just  the  type  of  potatoes  demanded  by  the 
northern  market.  In  other  words,  it  will  seek  not  only 
to  save  the  middleman's  profits,  but  also  to  get  extra  profits 
through  standardization  and  improved  methods  of  grading. 

The  .Catawba  folks  are  also  making  a  determined  effort 
to  have  their  farm  schools  train  for  farm  life.  The  fact  of 
the  business  is  that  if  anything  is  found  anywhere  in 
Catawba  County  now  that  "hadn't  ought  to  be"  a  wholesale 
war  is  immediately  declared  against  it,  no  matter  how 
ancient  its  title.  More  than  this,  the  Catawba  folks  are 
even  going  out  of  their  way  to  find  out  whether  any  bad 
conditions  exist  that  they  haven't  known  about.  They  are 
now  preparing  to  have  a  "rural  survey"  of  the  county  and 
have  already  made  a  survey  of  one  or  two  school  districts — 
finding  out  such  things  as  how  many  farmers  in  the  district 
read  no  papers,  how  many  children  are  not  going  to  school, 
how  many  people  in  the  district  are  not  church  members, 
how  many  children  in  the  district  are  attending  college  or 
high  school,  etc. 

Of  course,  a  wide-awake  people  are  not  going  to  be  satis- 
fied with  bad  roads,  and  there  is  now  great  enthusiasm  over 
the  sand-clay  roads  that  are  being  built  and  which  are  better 
in  many  respects  than  the  macadam  roads  that  cost  three  or 
four  times  as  much  per  mile. 

The  county's  country  schools  are  not  kept  open  as  long 
as  they  should  be,  but  here  again  the  leaders  are  keeping 
up  a  campaign  of  "agitation,  irritation  and  education"  for 
better  things. 

In  short,  the  Catawba  folks  have  been  waked  up  by  co- 
operation, they  have  been  inspired  by  an  ideal  of  just  what 
a  farming  county  may  be,  and  as  Mr.  Foster,  the  county 
demonstration  agent,  said  to  me,  "We  are  not  going  to  let 
anything  stop  us." 

I  met  a  lot  of  interesting  men  on  my  latest  trip  to  Catawba 


i 


NORTH  CAROLINA  COUNTY  CO-OPERATION  HAS  WAKED  UP    129 

— men  who  are  carrying  on  this  creamery  work  and  poultry 
work,  marketing  work,  etc.,  but  the  two  most  interesting 
persons  I  met  there  were  women :  prophetic  and  significant 
persons  they  were.  These  were  Mrs.  John  W.  Robinson 
and  Mrs.  Gordon  Wilfong,  leaders  in  the  two  new  clubs  of 
"United  Farm  Women"  organized  in  Catawba. 

No  sort  of  movement  for  rural  co-operation  or  for  the 
development  of  a  greater  rural  civilization  can  win  large 
success  unless  it  recognizes  and  makes  room  for  the  coun- 
try woman;  and  it  is  also  true  that  the  men  will  never 
organize  the  women.  Our  farm  women  must  themselves 
develop  leaders  for  their  own  work.  The  inspiring  fact  is 
that  this  is  just  what  is  happening  in  Catawba  County.  I 
don't  know  when  I  have  ever  felt  a  keener  joy  in  having 
some  hand  in  this  organization  of  country  life  than  I  felt 
as  I  talked  with  a  young  farmer's  wife  who  has  caught  a 
vision  of  the  possibilities  of  organizing  the  country  women, 
and,  as  Mr.  Foster  would  say,  "is  not  going  to  let  anything 
stop  her"  until  the  result  is  achieved. 

"We  have  pretty  good  conditions  in  our  neighborhood,"  she 
told  me,  "but  I  can  never  be  satisfied  simply  to  have  the  best 
social  conditions  in  my  immediate  community  and  the  best 
schools  for  my  own  children,  if  I  know  that  other  districts 
in  the  county  are  yet  wholly  untouched  by  the  new  spirit. 
I  want  to  reach  the  stay-at-home  woman  who  feels  that 
nobody  wants  her  at  a  meeting.  And  the  only  way  I  know 
to  do  this  is  to  have  a  county  meeting  and  get  the  women 
in  each  school  district  who  are  interested  to  come  and  then 
put  on  them  the  responsibility  of  reaching  these  other 
women." 

Finally,  Mr.  Farmer,  Catawba  is  only  a  good  illustration 
of  what  your  county  might  be  if  you  would  only  get  it 
waked  up.     Why  not  wake  it  up? 


CHAPTER  XV 

WHAT  CALIFORNIA  AND  FLORIDA  CITRUS 
FRUIT  GROWERS  HAVE  DONE 

Florida  Growers  Spend  About  $100,000  in  Advertising  and 
Opening  Up  New  Markets,  Thereby  Greatly  Increasing 
Prices  and  Profits — "California  Fruit  Growers'  Exchange" 
a  Marvel  of  Efficiency — Central  Organisation  Advises, 
Locals  Act — Blanket  Freight  Rate  an  Important  Factor — 
Co-operation  Cuts  Cost  Packing  and  Handling  in  Half  and 
Reduces  Cost  of  Distribution  to  5  Per  Cent — Associations 
Run  Their  Own  "Orchard  Supply  Company." 

NOWHERE  have  growers  of  agricultural  produce 
achieved  greater  success  through  organization 
and  co-operation  than  has  been  won  by  the 
growers  of  oranges,  lemons  and  grapefruit  in 
California  and  Florida.  I  have  before  me  as  I  write  this 
a  letter  from  Mr.  L.  D.  Jones,  general  manager  of  the 
Florida  Citrus  Exchange,  in  which  he  sums  up  the  first 
four  years'  activity  of  the  Florida  organization  as  follows : 
"Four  years  ago  Florida  citrus  fruits  were  comparatively 
unknown  outside  of  some  of  the  larger  markets  and  a  por- 
tion of  the  Southern  states.  Last  season  the  Florida 
Citrus  Exchange  oranges  and  grapefruit  were  sold  in  nearly 
all  the  markets  from  Portland,  Me.,  to  Portland,  Ore.,  and 
from  Detroit  to  New  Orleans;  the  energetic  advertising 
campaigns  that  have  been  conducted  by  the  Exchange,  and 
the  superior  manner  in  which  the  fruit  was  graded  and 
packed,  extending  their  markets  to  this  extent.  It  must 
be  understood  that  approximately  $100,000  was  spent  in 
advertising  Florida  fruits  by  the  Exchange,  at  an  infin- 

180 


WHAT   CITRUS    FRUIT   GROWERS   HAVE   DONE  131 

itesimal  cost  to  the  individual  grower.  Again  are  the 
beneficent  results  of  co-operation  in  strong  evidence.  Dur- 
ing this  progress  along  lines  mentioned,  the  prices  of  fruit 
have  steadily  advanced;  grove  property  has  greatly  en- 
hanced in  value,  which  has,  as  a  consequence,  strengthened 
all  lines  of  business  in  the  citrus  belt  of  the  State. 

"As  evidence  of  the  continually  increased  price  from  year 
to  year,  the  following  audited  figures  are  given  showing  the 
average  f.  o.  b.  Florida  prices  per  box :  Four  seasons  ago, 
$1.15;  three  seasons  ago,  $1.51;  two  years  ago,  $1.93;  last 
season,  $1.96. 

"Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  in  the  four  years'  existence  of  the 
Florida  Citrus  Exchange  that  it  has  actually  raised  the 
average  net  price  per  box  81  cents.  The  statement,  then, 
that  grove  property  has  been  greatly  enhanced  in  value, 
and  that  all  lines  of  business  in  the  citrus  belt  have  been, 
greatly  strengthened,  can  be  readily  understood." 

It  is  in  California,  however,  that  the  most  remarkable 
success  has  been  won  through  the  medium  of  the  largest 
business  organization  of  growers  in  the  United  States — 
the  "California  Fruit  Growers'  Exchange."  For  efficiency 
it  is  to  be  compared  with  the  Standard  Oil  Company. 

The  California  citrus  fruit  industry,  it  should  be  noted, 
has  passed  through  all  the  trials  of  disorganization  and 
organization.  Some  years  ago,  for  lack  of  a  marketing 
organization,  a  large  part  of  the  crop  of  oranges  remained 
on  the  trees  in  the  summer.  Residents  there  still  recall 
how  the  sight  of  golden  harvests  ungleaned  everywhere 
advertised  the  lack  of  an  adequate  distributing  system. 
The  growers  were  at  the  mercy  of  the  local  buyers,  who 
divided  the  territory  or  fixed  a  maximum  price.  Twenty 
years  ago  overproduction  was  feared,  though  California 
had  only  5,000  carloads  of  oranges  to  market  annually. 
Now  that  the  growers  have  been  organized,  no  difficulty 
is  experienced  in  distributing  45,000  carloads  a  year. 

The  organization  of  the  citrus  fruit  industry  began  with 


132         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

the  formation  of  local  associations,  the  membership  in 
these  ranging  from  four  to  200.  These  local  associations, 
of  course,  could  only  sell  to  local  buyers  or  to  representa- 
tives of  distant  buyers;  and  under  this  system,  or  lack  of 
system,  no  efficient  distribution  of  the  crop  could  be 
secured.  One  association  would  not  know  but  that  another 
might  have  already  oversupplied  the  very  market  to  which 
it  was  preparing  to  ship.  Moreover,  they  were  likely  to 
glut  the  larger  markets  and  undersupply  many  smaller 
cities  willing  to  pay  better  prices. 

When  local  associations  thus  proved  inadequate,  some 
of  them  federated  and  formed  "The  California  Fruit 
Growers'  Exchange."  Eighty  per  cent  of  the  growers  are 
now  organized  into  co-operative  associations  and  65  per 
cent  belong  to  this  California  Fruit  Growers'  Exchange. 
It  has  handled  during  the  last  nine  years  $121,000,000 
worth  of  products. 

And  now  let  us  briefly  describe  the  work  of  the  local 
associations  and  the  general  organization. 

The  local  association  grades  and  packs,  and  sometimes 
picks  the  fruit  of  the  members.  Fruit  of  the  same  grade 
is  put  together  and  each  member  receives  his  share  of  the 
receipts,  according  to  grades.  Fruit  of  the  best  quality 
is  sold  under  the  general  brand  of  the  central  exchange 
and  also  under  the  brand  of  the  local.  Thus  a  general 
reputation  for  the  fruit  of  the  California  Exchange  is  de- 
veloped while  at  the  same  time  the  growers  in  each  local 
are  encouraged  to  make  the  brand  of  their  own  particular 
locality  as  famous  as  possible. 

The  115  local  associations  working  as  indicated  are 
divided  into  seventeen  district  exchanges.  The  district 
exchange  orders  cars  for  the  locals  and  keeps  a  record  of 
all  cars  sent  out,  and  each  district  exchange  has  one  director 
in  the  general  State  exchange. 

Then  the  central  exchange  acts  as  a  clearing  house  for 
collecting  telegraphic  news  of  the  trade,  for  receiving  offers 


< 


WHAT   CITRUS   FRUIT   GROWERS   HAVE    DONE  133 

for  fruit,  and  for  redistributing  this  information  to  all  the 
district  exchanges.  The  central  exchange,  however,  as  we 
should  make  plain  in  the  beginning,  does  not  sell  a  single 
box  of  fruit.  It  simply  provides  at  cost  the  facilities 
through  which  7,000  growers  sell  their  fruit  to  jobbers  at 
distant  markets.  It  employs  banded  agents  to  drum  up 
trade  and  to  report  price  fluctuations  and  market  conditions 
in  all  the  principal  cities  of  the  United  States  and  Canada. 
If  a  buyer  makes  an  offer  to  one  of  these  agents,  he  has 
no  authority  to  accept  it,  but  telegraphs  it  to  the  central 
exchange  which  in  turn  passes  it  on  to  the  district  ex- 
change, and  the  district  exchange  to  the  local,  which  has 
the  particular  brand  of  oranges  wanted.  The  reply  or 
return  offer  is  sent  back  to  the  agent  by  the  same  way. 
Thus  the  agent  acts  only  upon  instructions  from  the  shipper. 
The  reserved  rights  which  the  shippers  have  are  defined 
in  contracts  between  the  California  Fruit  Growers'  Ex- 
change and  the  local  associations  as  follows : 

"Each  shipper  reserves  to  itself  the  right  to  regulate  and  control  its 
own  shipments,  to  use  its  own  judgment,  to  decide  for  itself  when  and 
in  what  amounts  it  shall  ship;  to  what  market  it  shall  ship;  where  its 
products  shall  be  sold,  and,  except  at  auction  points,  the  price  it  is  will- 
ing to  receive,  fully  reserving  the  right  of  free  competition  with  all 
other  shippers,  including  other  members  of  this  organization,  unham- 
pered and  uncontrolled  by  anyone." 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  the  central  exchange  does  not 
try  to  control  prices  by  "scanting"  a  market  or  by  fixing 
a  minimum  price  in  all  markets.  In  the  West  it  has  the 
field  to  itself.  In  the  South  and  East  it  is  in  competition 
with  European  and  Florida  fruit.  The  Exchange  does  not 
try  to  obtain  the  profits  which  a  trust  gets  from  fixing 
prices.  It  does,  however,  acquire  the  profits  of  controlling 
prices  by  as  even  and  wide  a  distribution  of  fruit  as  pos- 
sible. No  market  is  glutted  and  no  market  is  undersup- 
plied.  The  grower  receives  a  better  price  for  his  fruit, 
while  the  fruit  is  distributed  at  a  decreased  cost  and  the 


134        HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

consumer  obtains  it  at  a  lower  price  than  formerly. 
The  local  association  has  the  complete  power  to  deter- 
mine the  diversion  and  final  destination  of  each  car,  and 
of  deciding  upon  the  price  which  it  is  willing  to  accept  for 
each  shipment.  The  Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  Produce 
Exchange,  as  readers  know,  practices  the  opposite  method, 
determining  at  the  central  office  the  destination  of  ship- 
ments and  all  prices  for  the  growers. 

An  arrangement  which  will  doubtless  surprise  the  aver- 
age reader  is  this :  The  railroads  have  granted  the  Cali- 
fornia Exchange  a  blanket  freight  rate;  that  is  to  say,  the 
same  rate  whether  the  fruit  is  shipped  to  Kansas  City  or 
New  York.  Some  cars  may  be  stopped  by  telegram  in 
Arizona  or  New  Mexico,  if  the  prices  are  better  in  those 
sections ;  other  cars  may  go  on  to  Texas,  or  if  prices  are  not 
good  there,  they  may  be  diverted  to  Kansas  and  Minnesota; 
or  they  may  be  kept  going  on  to  Pittsburgh,  New  York  or 
to  Toronto.  The  same  freight  rate  obtains  whether  the 
car  finally  stops  in  New  Mexico  or  in  Montreal.  At  any 
point  en  route  the  car  may  be  stopped  or  diverted.  As 
Prof.  Harry  Clark  says : 

"In  the  Los  Angeles  office  there  is  a  card  index  for  every  car,  tell- 
ing its  brand  and  on  what  railroad  it  is  being  shipped  and  its  destina- 
tion. When  a  telegram  is  received  stating  that  the  people  in  a  certain 
city  do  not  care  for  oranges,  the  clerk  in  Los  Angeles  steps  to  his  card 
catalog  and  finds  what  cars  are  headed  for  that  market.  At  the  same 
time  he  has  received  a  telegram  that  other  cities  are  eager  for  oranges, 
because  the  taste  of  certain  cities,  just  like  that  of  individuals,  varies 
from  day  to  day.  The  manager  telegraphs  and  catches  the  car  headed 
to  the  city  which  does  not  want  oranges.  Perhaps  this  car  is  100  miles 
from  that  city.  He  stops  it  immediately,  has  it  switched  on  to  another 
train  and  sent  to  the  city  which  does  want  it.  In  that  way  every  box 
of  California  oranges  is  sold  where  it  is  wanted  at  good  prices  and 
losses  are  reduced  to  a  minimum." 

The  fruit  is  sold  either  through  orders  received  by  agents 
from  jobbers  or  at  auction  in  the  large  cities.  A  part  of 
the  fruit  is  sold  f.  o.  b.  at  an  agreed  upon  price,  subject  to 


WHAT   CITRUS   FRUIT  GROWERS   HAVE   DONE  135 

inspection  and  condition  on  arrival;  and  part  f.  o.  b,  at  a 
certain  price  which  is  not  subject  to  inspection  on  arrival. 
When  fruit  is  sold  by  the  latter  method  a  deduction  from 
the  price  is  made  for  cash  at  the  time  of  shipment. 

One  more  important  activity  of  the  organized  citrus 
growers  should  be  noted.  The  115  local  associations  own 
the  stock  in  a  $1,000,000  orchard  supply  company.  This 
company  was  organized  because  the  price  of  box  lumber 
was  almost  doubled  in  one  year.  The  company  has  bought 
much  timberland,  manufactures  boxes  for  the  members 
and  in  1911-12  sold  to  the  locals  at  cost  $2,068,591  worth 
of  boxes,  labels,  tissue  paper  wrappers  and  general  orchard 
supplies.  It  has  also  handled  as  much  as  six  tons  of  vetch 
seed  for  members  in  a  year.  Through  the  co-operative  pur- 
chase of  supplies  the  cost  of  packing  oranges  has  been  re- 
duced from  60  cents  or  more  per  box,  the  amount  charged 
when  the  buyer  packed  the  fruit,  to  an  average  cost  of  33 
cents  per  box,  while  the  cost  of  packing  lemons  has  been 
reduced  from  $1  or  more  to  an  average  cost  of  60  cents 
per  box,  A  co-operative  fire  insurance  company  gives  pro- 
tection at  remarkably  low  cost.  "After  six  years,"  it  is 
said,  "the  losses  are  less  than  the  actual  premiums  of  regu- 
lar fire  insurance  companies." 

All  the  facilities  provided  by  the  central  exchange  or 
district  exchanges  are  also  furnished  at  cost.  In  1912-13 
the  total  cost  of  distributing  oranges  and  lemons  to  whole- 
salers amounted  to  only  3.13  per  cent  on  the  f.  o.  b.  Cali- 
fornia returns,  or  less  than  2}i  per  cent  on  the  gross  re- 
ceipts. Just  what  an  achievement  in  collective  marketing 
we  have  here  is  emphasized  when  we  recall  that  as  a  rule 
it  costs  the  individual  farmer  in  the  United  States  from 
7  to  20  per  cent  on  the  gross  sales  to  market  his  crop  to  the 
wholesaler.  Since  the  formation  of  the  Exchange  the 
cost  of  handling  and  packing  has  been  reduced  by  almost 
one-half. 

One  more  remarkable  fact  about  the  Exchange  is  that 


136        HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE  PROFITS 

its  $16,000,000  to  $20,000,000  business  a  year  ago  is  trans- 
acted with  only  $1,700  of  paid-in  capital.  The  local  associ- 
ations move  the  crop  East  on  their  own  credit,  the  growers 
either  waiting  for  the  cash  returns  until  the  money  reaches 
them  from  the  jobbers  or  securing  an  advance  from  the 
bank. 

In  conclusion,  it  is  interesting  to  note  the  method  by 
which  the  Exchange  is  financed.  An  arbitrary  assessment 
for  the  cost  of  handling  is  determined  at  the  beginning  of 
each  year.  This  assessment  is  based  upon  estimated  ship- 
ments and  upon  the  probable  expenses,  and  includes  such 
items  as  salaries  of  agents,  telegraphic  services  and  legal 
fees.  The  central  exchange  allots  the  amount  of  the  assess- 
ment each  month  upon  each  district  exchange  at  so  much 
per  box,  based  on  the  number  of  boxes  shipped.  An  adjust- 
ment is  made  of  the  surplus  or  deficit  at  the  end  of  each  year. 

The  central  exchange,  district  exchanges  and  the  local 
associations  are  organized  on  purely  co-operative  principles. 
The  local  associations  and  the  district  exchanges  are  either 
stock  companies  with  a  fixed  dividend  or  non-stock  com- 
panies with  no  dividends.  The  central  exchange  is  a  non- 
profit corporation.  It  performs  its  services  at  their  actual 
cost  and  declares  no  dividends.  There  are  no  profits  to 
quarrel  over.  The  local  associations  receive  all  the  pro- 
ceeds minus  the  assessment  for  running  expenses,  which  is 
prorated  according  to  the  amount  of  products  marketed. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

AN  ARKANSAS  COTTON  MARKETING 
ASSOCIATION 

How  the  Planters  Around  Scott,  Ark.,  Got  Together,  Formed 
the  "Scott  Cotton  Growers'  Association,"  and  Marketed  the 
First  Year  7,554  Bales  of  Cotton  and  <5j  Carloads  of  Seed — 
Profits  Ranged  as  High  as  $5  a  Bale  on  Lint  and  $4  a  Ton 
on  Seed — Total  Business  Nearly  Half  a  Million  Dollars. 

WHILE  other  southern  farmers  have  been  busy  dis- 
cussing- this  or  that  plan  of  cotton  marketing,  the 
planters  of  Scott,  Ark.,  have  been  busy  not  dis- 
cussing, but,  in  so  far  as  they  are  concerned, 
actually  solving  the  difficulty. 

Their  solution  of  the  best  way  to  market  the  cotton  crop 
of  their  section  was  by  the  formation  of  "The  Scott  Cotton 
Growers'  Association."  This  association  is  composed  of 
twenty-four  planters  from  the  country  immediately  sur- 
rounding the  railroad  station  of  Scott,  Ark,,  representing 
30,000  acres  of  cotton. 

The  objects  of  the  association  as  set  forth  in  its  constitu- 
tion are : 

(1)  To  produce  cotton  from  pure  seed; 

(2)  To  secure  uniformity  in  ginning; 

(3)  To  sell  cotton  in  even  running  lots; 

(4)  To  deal  as  nearly  directly  with  the  mills  as  possible; 

(5)  To  act  in  co-operation  with  the  United  States  Department  of 
Agriculture  toward  accomplishing  these  objects,  and  to  take  such  fur- 
ther action  as  may  be  practicable  to  produce  better  cotton  and  improve 
the  prevailing  methods  of  handling  and  marketing  same. 

The  objects  as  set  forth  above  sound  like  some  of  the 
rules  for  good  behavior  in  a  book  of  etiquette ;  and  yet  when 

137 


138         HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE  PROFITS 

one  who  is  familiar  with  the  cotton  market  stops  to  think 
it  becomes  evident  that  these  people  have  struck  good  and 
hard  at  the  root  of  many  of  the  difficulties  that  we  en- 
counter. 

In  order  that  their  object  should  not  be  a  merely  written 
formula  but  an  accomplishment  in  fact,  these  cotton  farm- 
ers went  to  work  with  a  system  and  determination  that 
could  only  result  in  success.  The  first  thing  they  did  was 
to  build  at  Scott  a  sample  room.  Means  for  doing  this  and 
for  operating  the  association  were  provided  for  by  the 
fixing  of  a  membership  fee  of  10  cents  a  bale  from  each 
member,  according  to  the  number  of  bales  shipped  by  that 
member  the  year  before  the  organization  of  the  association. 
In  addition,  each  member  agrees  to  pay  a  commission  of 
50  cents  a  bale  for  every  bale  handled  by  the  association. 
These  assessments  and  commissions  assured  them  sufficient 
funds  to  warrant  their  employment  of  a  secretary,  whose 
business  it  is  to  look  after  the  affairs  of  the  association. 

The  first  business  of  the  association  was  the  securing  of 
improved  seed.  These  were  purchased  in  carload  lots  and 
distributed  to  the  members  at  cost.  The  association  lays 
down  the  rules  for  the  ginning  and  baling  of  the  cotton, 
and  thus  having  planted  the  same  variety  of  seed  and  hav- 
ing ginned  and  handled  the  cotton  in  the  same  way,  it 
became  comparatively  easy  for  the  association  to  be  as- 
sured of  uniformity  in  the  cotton.  Each  farmer  draws  his 
own  sample  and  delivers  it  to  the  sample  room,  together 
with  a  statement  of  the  number  of  bales  corresponding  to 
the  sample.  The  buyer  inspects  these  samples  and  buys 
from  the  secretary  the  number  of  bales  he  desires.  The 
several  planters  furnishing  the  samples  selected  are  notified 
how  and  when  to  ship,  and  the  secretary  receives  the  pay 
for  the  cotton  and  forwards  to  each  planter  his  pro  rata. 

"What  guarantee  do  you  have  that  the  cotton  will  come 
up  to  the  sample?"  we  asked  Mr.  Brown,  the  secretary. 

His  answer  was :  "We  admit  to  membership  only  such 
men  as  we  believe  will   make  up  any  deficiency  in  this 


AN  ARKANSAS  COTTON  MARKETING  ASSOCIATION  139 

matter,"  The  rock  upon  which  so  many  associations  of 
this  kind  split  is  the  failure  of  its  members  to  properly 
support  it.  They  will  live  up  to  their  agreement  to  ship 
all  their  products  through  the  association  so  long  as  the 
association  can  secure  them  decidedly  better  prices;  but 
the  moment  the  association's  prices  happen  to  fall  near  the 
price  offered  upon  the  open  market,  they  begin  to  figure 
that  they  can  save  that  50  cents  a  bale,  and  so  the  next 
thing  that  is  known  the  amount  of  cotton  handled  by  the 
association  is  so  small  that  it  ceases  to  command  the  respect 
of  the  buyers,  and  the  result  is  another  failure  in  attempted 
co-operation. 

The  breaking  up  of  associations  of  this  kind  by  the  buy- 
ers is  frequently  accomplished  by  the  knowledge  of  this 
failing.  The  legitimate  buyer  has  every  reason  to  encour- 
age such  an  organization,  but  there  are  many  "free  lances" 
in  the  buying  field,  especially  in  that  of  cotton,  who  make 
their  largest  profit  by  undergrading  rather  than  from  a 
legitimate  commission.  Such  men  soon  learn  that  an  as- 
sociation is  rather  inimical  to  their  business,  and  the  artificial 
boosting  of  prices  so  as  to  induce  its  members  to  desert  it 
is  not  an  uncommon  and,  we  are  sorry  to  say,  is  a  frequently 
successful,  way  of  breaking  up  such  an  organization.  When 
asked  what  penalty  the  association  inflicted  for  the  violation 
of  the  agreement  to  allow  the  association  to  handle  all  his 
cotton,  Mr.  Brown  answered :  "We  attempt  to  allow  only 
such  men  to  join  as  we  know  will  stick  to  their  agreement. 
We  have  dropped  one  or  two  for  violating  it."  So  the 
penalty  is  immediate  expulsion,  and  it  is  none  too  severe. 

The  association  also  handles  the  cottonseed  of  its  mem- 
bers, for  which  service  it  receives  50  cents  a  ton  in  com- 
missions. The  seed  are  sampled  and  weighed  by  the  buyer 
and  owner  at  the  owner's  property,  but  are  bought  by  the 
association.  By  being  in  a  position  to  handle  and  supply 
both  cotton  and  seed  in  large  lots,  both  guaranteed  as  to 
quality,  the  association  is  able  to  attract  the  attention  of  the 
best  buyers  who  are  able  to  buy  at  less  expense,  and  so  are 


140        HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE  PROFITS 

naturally  able  to  offer  better  prices  for  the  goods.  On  the 
Other  hand  the  association  is  in  a  position  not  only  to  know 
the  true  grades  of  its  goods,  but  to  keep  informed  as  to  the 
best  markets. 

The  first  year's  business — 1913 — shows  that  the  association 
handled  7,554  bales  of  cotton  averaging  521  pounds  in  weight. 
This  cotton  was  sold  for  an  average  price  of  11.64  cents  per 
pound,  f.  o.  b.  the  member's  shipping  point.  The  total  price 
realized  for  this  cotton  was  $458,171.48.  Of  cottonseed  they 
sold  63  carloads — 1,388  tons — at  an  average  price  of  $21.80 
per  ton,  f.  o.  b.,  or  a  total  of  $30,176.07.  In  other  words,  the 
association  in  the  first  year  of  its  existence  did  a  business 
amounting  to  $488,347.55 — nearly  half  a  million  dollars. 

The  test  of  the  value  of  any  organization  of  this  kind  is 
the  amount  it  is  able  to  earn  for  its  members  above  what 
they  would  have  received  for  their  product  and  over  and 
above  that  received  by  the  member  of  the  community  who 
is  not  a  member.  With  the  data  at  hand  it  is  not  possible 
to  give  this  in  exact  figures,  but  frequent  instances  came  to 
light  during  the  season's  operations  where  the  association 
sold  cotton  for  from  one-half  to  one  cent  above  that  received 
for  cotton  of  equal  grade,  raised  in  the  community  but  han- 
dled by  the  individual.  In  a  number  of  other  instances 
when  the  home  mills  were  paying  $20  a  ton  for  cottonseed 
and  these  were  the  only  markets  for  the  man  who  was  sell- 
ing independently,  the  association  sold  seed  for  its  members 
outside  the  State  for  $24  a  ton. 

A  premium  of  from  $2.50  to  $5  a  bale  on  cotton,  plus 
freight  and  all  of  the  ordinary  charges  of  shipping,  and  a 
similar  premium  up  to  $4  a  ton  on  seed,  it  would  seem 
should  be  a  strong  enough  inducement  not  only  to  hold 
its  membership,  but  to  attract  others.  The  commission 
and  membership  dues,  as  compared  with  the  ordinary 
charges  for  shipping  and  selling  cotton  or  cottonseed  are 
so  small  that  they  are  practically  negligible ;  and  yet  they 
have  afforded  the  association  ample  revenues  for  operation. 

But  this  association  is  only  in  its  infancy,  and  has  already 


AN  ARKANSAS  COTTON   MARKETING  ASSOCIATION  141 

learned  from  its  first  year's  experience  how  it  can  improve 
its  work.  At  first  each  farmer  drew  his  own  sample  and 
delivered  it  to  the  association  sample  room.  Under  these 
conditions  there  was  not  that  uniformity  of  samples  which 
would  follow  had  these  samples  been  drawn  by  one  expert, 
and,  as  a  consequence,  the  cotton  did  not  always  come  up 
to  the  sample.  This  called  for  an  adjustment  and  a  mak- 
ing good  which,  to  say  the  least,  was  a  disagreeable  neces- 
sity and  one  that  the  association  has  taken  steps  to  avoid 
another  year  by  employing  an  expert  cotton  buyer  to  do 
the  sampling  and  grading.  With  this  addition  to  their 
working  machinery  the  association  will  be  in  a  position  to 
sell  without  the  buyer  even  seeing  the  sample,  and  thus  will 
be  able  to  extend  the  limits  of  its  market  to  cover  the  whole 
world.  It  is  their  desire,  everything  else  being  equal,  to 
deal  with  local  buyers ;  but  they  will  thus  always  be  in  a 
position  to  deal  with  the  mills  direct  and  so  will  be  able  to 
force  all  other  buyers  not  only  to  give  them  the  maximum 
price  for  their  goods,  but  to  treat  them  fairly  in  all  other 
respects. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  while  others  have  been  dis- 
cussing how  to  solve  the  problem  of  the  best  way  to  sell 
cotton,  these  people  have  taken  the  first  steps,  and  long 
steps  at  that,  toward  doing  it.  As  they  gain  more  expe- 
rience, improvements  upon  their  present  plans  will  no 
doubt  suggest  themselves  and  be  adopted ;  but  even  with- 
out these  improvements  they  have  a  plan  that  is  a  long  step 
in  advance  of  the  old  haphazard  methods. 

The  officers  of  this  association  are :  J.  R.  Alexander, 
president;  H.  T.  Brown,  secretary-treasurer;  J.  R.  Alex- 
ander, Tom  Fletcher,  B.  R.  Costin,  H.  T.  Brown  and  M.  L. 
Walt,  directors. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

EVERY  FARMER  SHOULD  JOIN  A  MUTUAL 
INSURANCE  COMPANY 

A  Mississippi  Farmer  Tells  How  He  Is  Paying  a  Non-Mutual 
Company  $11.66  Per  Year  for  Each  $1,000  Insurance,  While 
Mr.  W.  J.  Shuford  Reports  That  in  a  Farmers'  Mutual  for 
Nine  Years  the  Cost  Averaged  Only  $1.50  for  Each  $1,000 
Insured — $^.63  Average  a  Safer  Rule,  However — Farmers 
Should  Also  Carry  Accident  Insurance  and  Live  Stock 
Insurance. 

A  FORM  of  co-operation  that  should  never  be  over- 
looked is  that  of  mutual  insurance.     In  a  later 
chapter  on   "What   Co-operation   Has   Done   for 
French  Farmers,"  we  mention  the  great  good  the 
farmers  of  France  have  achieved  in  this  respect,  and  it  is  a 
lesson  our  American  farmers  should  take  to  heart. 

Recently  the  writer  received  two  letters  from  farmers  in 
the  same  State  (Mississippi),  complaining  about  the  ab- 
sence of  farmers'  mutual  insurance  companies  in  that  State. 
Farmer  No.  i  said:  "The  writer,  previous  to  1910,  was  a 
farmer  in  Maine  for  eight  years,  and  during  that  time  was 
a  member  of  the  Patrons  of  Husbandry,  which  organization 
in  Maine  has  a  mutual  insurance  association  for  the  insur- 
ing of  farm  property  which  was  very  successful,  the  cost 
being  almost  nothing.  Since  coming  to  Mississippi  I  find 
that  the  insurance  rates  are  almost  prohibitive,  some  com- 
panies refusing  to  write  farm  insurance.  I  would  like  to 
inquire  if  the  farmers'  organizations  in  the  South  have 
anything  of  the  kind." 

Farmer  No.  2  wrote  with  even  greater  emphasis  as  fol- 
lows :     "We  are  paying  $35  a  thousand  for  our  farm  insur- 

142 


FARMERS   SHOULD  JOIN    A   MUTUAL   INSURANCE   CO.      143 

ance  covering  three  years.  For  a  like  amount  of  farm 
insurance  in  Illinois  we  pay  $17.50  a  thousand.  In  other 
words,  the  cost  here  is  100  per  cent  more.  Now,  who  gets 
the  extra  money  and  why  are  we  submitting  to  such  ex- 
orbitant rates  without  kick?  Isn't  it  about  time  the  south- 
ern land  owners  began  to  look  this  matter  up  with  a  view 
to  cheaper  insurance?" 

Knowing  that  the  Farmers'  Mutual  Fire  Insurance  As- 
sociation of  North  Carolina  is  one  of  the  most  successful 
organizations  of  this  kind  in  America,  we  brought  these 
inquiries  to  the  attention  of  the  president,  who  wrote  the 
author  of  this  book  as  follows: 

"We  now  have  19,724  members  and  $17,570,886  of  in- 
surance in  force  at  the  end  of  the  last  fiscal  year.  We  had  paid 
losses  during  the  year  amounting  to  $43,438.17,  and  had  on 
deposit  in  the  various  branches  $23,056.06. 

"The  average  cost  of  insurance  for  all  the  branches  per 
year  has  been  $3.63  on  one  thousand  dollars.  This  low 
rate  is  due  to  the  fact  that  ours  is  a  mutual  insurance  organ- 
ization sure  enough  and  not  in  name  only.  We  do  not 
undertake  the  creation  of  a  surplus  to  be  divided  among 
policyholders  or  to  put  into  stocks,  bonds,  buildings,  etc. 
Our  paid  officers  are  few  and  their  salaries  are  quite  modest. 
For  instance,  there  are  only  two  officers  for  the  state  as- 
sociation receiving  salaries,  and  in  the  county  branches 
only  the  secretary-treasurer,  who  is  really  the  manager  for 
his  county,  receives  compensation. 

"Each  county  branch  is  independent  in  the  conduct  of  its 
business  and  has  no  liability  for  losses  occurring  outside  its 
own  territorial  limits.  A  branch,  however,  may  embrace  as 
many  as  three  counties. 

"When  a  person  becomes  a  member  of  a  branch,  which  he 
does  when  he  takes  a  policy  of  insurance,  he  pays  $5  on 
$1,000  (or  at  that  rate  for  a  less  amount),  and  at  the  same 
time  pays  an  advance  assessment  into  the  protection  fund. 
After  that  only  when  there  is  a  loss  by  fire,  wind,  or  light- 


144         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

ning  in  his  branch  does  he  have  to  pay  anything  more. 
Each  branch  is  required  to  keep  in  its  treasury  one  advance 
assessment  so  that  losses  may  be  promptly  met.  Agents  are 
requested  not  to  write  over  three-fourths  of  what  is  a  con- 
servative cash  value  on  any  property,  and  not  to  take  any 
risk  where  there  is  doubt  as  to  the  moral  hazard  or  where 
property  is  heavily  mortgaged.  Nor  are  agents  allowed  to 
insure  expensive  dwellings  that  have  been  left  by  owners 
to  be  occupied  by  tenants." 

This  letter  gives  notable  information  as  to  the  mutual 
insurance  movement  as  it  affects  an  entire  State.  As  to 
how  one  of  the  local  branches  of  the  same  company  has 
operated,  the  following  statement,  sent  us  by  Mr.  W.  J. 
Shuford  of  Catawba  County,  N.  C,  in  1914,  is  illuminating: 

"We  have  2,268  members  in  the  two  counties  (Catawba 
and  Burke)  and  $1,786,890  insurance  in  force.  The  man- 
agement is  invested  in  the  hands  of  the  president,  vice- 
president,  secretary  and  treasurer,  and  a  board  of  directors 
of  four  in  Catawba  and  two  in  Burke  Counties,  who  are 
elected  for  the  term  of  one  year. 

"The  president  receives  a  salary  of  two  dollars  per  day 
and  expenses  for  the  time  spent  in  the  performance  of  any 
work  for  the  association.  The  secretary-treasurer  is 
paid  a  regular  monthly  salary,  and  devotes  a  good  part  of 
his  time  to  the  business. 

"There  is  a  supervisor  in  each  township  who  passes  on 
all  the  risks  insured;  and  there  is  also  a  local  agent  who 
gets  a  small  commission.  No  property  is  insured  for  over 
three-fourths  of  the  actual  cash  value.  The  supervisor  in 
each  township  assists  in  adjusting  losses  in  his  township. 

"No  building  is  insured  in  any  incorporated  town  that  is 
within  200  feet  of  the  nearest  building  and  its  contents 
must  not  exceed  $1,500  in  value. 

"The  losses  occurring  are  paid  by  a  pro  rata  assessment 
on  each  member,  and  must  be  paid  within  sixty  days  from 
date  of  notification.  The  assessments  have  been  only  15 
cents  on  the  $100  annually  since  1905." 


FARMERS   SHOULD  JOIN   A   MUTUAL   INSURANCE   CO.      145 

The  statement  that  assessments  in  Mr.  Shuford's  branch 
had  been  only  15  cents  a  year  on  the  $100,  or  $1.50  per  $1,000 
insured,  as  compared  with  a  cost  of  $11.6673  for  each  $1,000 
insured  in  our  Mississippi  friend's  non-mutual  company, 
seemed  to  us  too  good  to  be  true,  and  we  wrote  Mr.  Shuford 
to  know  if  there  was  not  some  mistake  in  his  figures.  But 
he  answered  that  there  was  none.  The  average  of  $3.63 
per  year  for  each  $1,000  insured,  as  reported  for  North 
Carolina  as  a  whole,  however,  seems  much  more  a  realizable 
ideal  in  an  average  county. 

In  any  case  the  letters  just  given  should  leave  no  doubt 
as  to  how  farmers  may  get  lower  insurance  rates.  If  you 
live  in  a  county  where  a  mutual  fire  insurance  company 
exists,  join  it.  If  you  do  not  live  in  such  a  section,  then 
go  ahead  and  organize  your  county.  Then,  if  your  county 
alone  does  not  furnish  so  large  a  company  as  you  wish, 
federate  it  with  one  or  more  adjoining  counties.  If  you 
have  a  county  farmers'  union  or  other  county  farmers'  or- 
ganization, bring  up  the  subject  at  your  next  meeting;  if 
you  have  none,  then  call  a  meeting  of  leading  farmers  at 
some  convenient  time  just  to  consider  forming  a  mutual 
insurance  company.  Every  farmer  ought  to  have  insur- 
ance, and  he  ought  to  have  it  at  a  lower  rate  than  the 
regular  companies  give. 

As  for  the  importance  of  insurance,  it  should  be  enough 
for  you  to  think  of  the  farm  homes  in  your  community 
one  by  one  and  imagine  the  trouble  half  of  the  owners 
would  have  in  rebuilding  if  fire  should  destroy  their  homes. 

We  ought  to  have  mutual  accident  insurance  also,  and 
live  stock  insurance.  The  writer  only  last  week,  as  this  is 
written,  made  a  small  contribution  to  a  neighbor  farmer 
whose  two  mules  were  recently  struck  by  lightning  and 
killed.  Now  it  is  a  good  thing  for  neighbors  to  help  a  man 
in  a  case  like  this,  but  it  is  uncertain  and  unbusinesslike, 
and  the  policy  of  asking  for  gifts  is  not  one  to  be  encour- 
aged. In  fact,  thousands  and  thousands  of  farmers  had 
rather  go  into  debt  and  work  their  way  out  rather  than 


146         HOW    FARMERS    CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

ask  any  man  for  a  cent — and  one  cannot  help  but  admire 
such  independence.  At  the  same  time,  a  man  ought  not  to 
have  the  risk  of  being  thrown  in  want  or  debt  by  accident 
of  any  kind — fire,  storm,  lightning  or  live  stock  disease, 
sometimes  meaning  a  struggle  for  years  to  get  back  to  where, 
the  owner  was  before.  Every  farmer  ought  to  carry  insurance 
against  all  these  risks  and  it  ought  to  be  mutual  insurance. 

After  the  local  companies  are  organized,  however,  it  is 
desirable  to  have  them  regularly  inspected  by  the  State 
insurance  commissioner.  We  are  reminded  of  this  by  the 
following  letter  from  one  State  commissioner: 

"I  find  that  frequently  among  the  people  generally  con- 
ducting mutual  associations  intended  solely  for  the  benefit 
of  policyholders  that  there  is  an  inclination  to  oppose  and 
even  to  resent  official  supervision.  But  any  man  who  loves 
his  State  and  who  will  examine  into  the  matter  will  find 
that  no  honest  association  need  fear  supervision  and  that 
it  is  only  by  supervision  that  irresponsible  and  dishonest 
concerns  may  be  eliminated  and  honest  and  responsible 
concerns  permitted  to  grow  without  being  choked  by 
noxious  weeds. 

"Due  to  the  fact  that  a  number,  of  irresponsible  and  utterly 
selfish  men  for  their  own  benefit  undertook  to  run  such  com- 
panies in  this  State  previous  to  the  establishment  of  the  in- 
surance department,  great  injury  was  done  to  the  cause." 

It  is  certainly  very  foolish  for  co-operative  companies 
of  any  kind  to  object  to  thorough  official  inspection.  It 
will  frequently  happen  that  a  perfectly  honest  man  will 
use  very  lax  bookkeeping  and  accounting  methods,  and  the 
members  have  a  right  to  know  that  he  will  be  checked  up 
if  this  happens. 

One  important  reason  for  the  great  success  of  the  co- 
operative stores  movement  in  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota,  as 
the  writer  found  last  year,  is  the  regular  system  of  audit- 
ing under  the  direction  of  the  Right  Relationship  League, 
and  regular  expert  auditing  should  be  a  feature  of  every 
co-operative  enterprise. 


CHAPTER  XVIII  ! 

I 
MAKING  FARMERS  INTO  BUSINESS  MEN:  HOW  j 
CO-OPERATION  HAS  REMADE  RURAL  IRELAND       j 

A  Visit  to  Sir  Horace  Plunkctt  and  What  I  Learned — Then  ] 

a  Visit  to  Kilkenny,  Where  I  Found  His  Co-operation  Ideas  I 
in  Full  Blast — The  BaUyragget  Co-operative  Creamery  and 

Poultry  Societv  and  the  Story  of  Their  Growth.  i 

IN  IRELAND  the  farmers — or  a  great  proportion  of 

them — have  become  business  men.     And  the  rest  are  i 

fast  being  waked  up.     That  is  the  net  result  of  Sir  , 

Horace     Plunkett's     co-operative     movement     begun  \ 

twenty-five  years  ago,  and  which  he  says,  world-famous  ' 

ihough  it  has  become,  is  as  yet  only  in  infancy.  i 

Sir  Horace  told  me  that  it  was  in  America  that  he  got  the  i 

inspiration  for  his  great  life  work.     It  was  when  he  was  j 

ranching  out  in  Wyoming  away  back  in  the  8o's.     "I  got  ^ 

into  the  American  habit  of  looking  at  everything  from  a  < 

business  point  of  view,"  he  told  me,  "and  when  I  came  back  ] 

to  Ireland  in  '89  I  simply  resolved  to  study  Ireland  as  a  i 

business  proposition.     To  my  mind  the  then  most  pressing  | 

question   was   neither  home  rule  nor  any  other  political  \ 

issue,  but  how  the  people  were  going  to  make  a  living:  1 
a  business  proposition  indeed,  and  an  agricultural  business 

proposition,   since  over  two-thirds   of  Ireland's   population  ' 

was  agricultural.     And  in  solving  this  agricultural  business  j 

proposition  it  seemed  to  me  that  we  needed  three  things —  j 

Better  Farming,  Better  Business,  Better  Living,  but  I  saw  | 

that  emphasis  must  be  laid  on  the  middle  phrase,  because  i 
only  through  better  business  could  we  get  better  farming 

or  better  living."  j 

"The  problem  of  remaking  rural  life  in  Ireland,  America  j 

or  anywhere  else,  in  fact,"  Sir  Horace  continued,  "is  like-  , 

147  I 


148        HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE  PROFITS 

wise  threefold — (i)  technical,  (2)  commercial,  and  (3) 
social;  but  the  clearest  and  surest  avenue  of  achievement 
is  through  the  commercial  feature.  First,  make  the  farmer 
a  better  business  man  and  all  these  other  things  will  be 
added  unto  him." 

This  is  the  new  conception  of  agricultural  progress  that 
is  beginning  to  take  possession  of  men  interested  in  rural 
progress  the  world  over.  To  make  two  blades  of  grass  grow 
where  one  grew  before :  this  has  been  regarded  as  the  end  of 
agricultural  progress  from  the  day  Dean  Swift  set  down 
the  opinion  of  the  King  of  Brobdingnag  until  now.  But 
at  last  a  change  has  come.  The  business  organization  of  urban 
industry — the  systematic,  scientific,  commercial  manage- 
ment of  urban  production — has  been  for  generations  now 
an  accomplished  fact  and  the  human  race  has  benefited 
incalculably  thereby;  and  Ireland  and  Denmark  are  now 
teaching  us  that  there  are  possibilities  for  a  hardly  less 
momentous  business  organization  of  rural  industry — not 
only  increased  production,  but  the  systematic,  scientific, 
commercial  management  of  this  increased  production. 

No  wonder,  therefore,  that  Mr.  Robert  A.  Anderson, 
secretary  of  the  Irish  Agricultural  Organization  Society, 
remarked  to  me  as  I  was  leaving  his  Dublin  office :  "Of 
one  fact  we  are  rather  proud,  and  that  is,  it  has  been  our 
good  fortune  in  Ireland  to  set  an  example  in  agricultural 
co-operation  for  all  English-speaking  peoples." 

This  is,  indeed,  exactly  what  Ireland  has  done;  and  our 
American  farmer,  whose  richer  opportunities,  better  facil- 
ities, and  more  democratic  atmosphere  should  have  won  for 
us  a  position  of  leadership,  must  go  to  Ireland  to  learn  the 
lessons  needed  for  all  America.  In  Ireland,  which  has  a 
population  about  twice  that  of  one  of  our  average  States, 
there  are  now  312  creameries  with  an  annual  turnover  of 
$10,000,000;  166  agricultural  societies;  237  co-operative 
banks,  and  87  miscellaneous  co-operative  societies — poultry, 
beekeeping,  bacon-curing,  etc. 

Suppose  we  had  in  each  county  in  the  United  States  two 


MAKING   FARMERS   INTO   BUSINESS    MEN  149 

co-operative  creameries,  one  or  two  farmers'  co-operative 
banks,  and  one  or  tv^^o  co-operative  societies  for  the  sale 
of  poultry  and  truck :  such  a  development  would  correspond 
to  what  has  been  accomplished  in  Ireland. 

Of  course,  all  this  has  not  been  brought  about  in  a  day. 
The  movement  started  away  back  in  1889  when  Mr.  Horace 
Plunkett  began  to  tell  the  Irish  farmers  that  what  they 
needed  was  less  politics  and  more  business — or  at  any  rate, 
a  good  deal  more  business  along  with  their  politics.  For  a 
long  time  his  voice  was  as  that  of  one  crying  in  the  wilder- 
ness. He  held  fifty  meetings  and  pleaded  with  fifty  different 
groups  of  farmers,  asking  each  group  to  join  in  some  co- 
operative business  organization,  before  a  single  enthusiastic 
response  varied  the  long  monotony  of  deaf-eared  failure.  But 
Mr.  Plunkett  was  an  Irishman  terribly  in  earnest;  and 
anybody  who  is  terribly  in  earnest  is  likely  to  go  a  long 
way — especially  if  he  is  an  Irishman. 

"Beware  when  the  Lord  Almighty  lets  loose  a  thinker  on 
the  planet,"  says  Emerson,  in  words  as  nearly  as  I  can  recall 
them;  and  Mr.  Plunkett  was  a  thinker.  He  was  also  a 
patriot  with  a  yearning  for  the  uplift  of  his  oppressed  and 
poverty-stricken  homeland.  He  had  all  the  patriotism  to 
which  Erin's  poets  and  orators  have  given  such  vivid  and 
eloquent  expression ;  but  his  patriotism  was  to  take  a  form 
of  constructive  work  rather  than  inflammatory  eloquence. 

The  Irish  farmer,  at  that  time,  was  the  joint  prey  of 
landlords  and  "gombeen-men,"  the  latter  phrase  being 
used  to  describe  a  class  of  credit  or  "time"  merchants  whose 
exorbitant  time  prices  kept  the  poor  peasants  in  virtual 
slavery.  What  profit  the  landlord  did  not  get  in  the  shape 
of  rent,  the  "gombeen-man"  got  when  the  money  for  the 
farmers'  products  came  in.  Or,  to  be  exact,  I  should  say 
that  the  credit  merchant  took  the  farmers'  goods  at  prices 
named  by  himself,  and  credited  them  on  the  farmer's  ac- 
count, and  about  all  the  poor  soil  tiller  knew  was  that  he 
was  getting  deeper  and  deeper  into  debt  all  the  time.  It 
was  our  blood-sucking  "credit  system"  of  the  South  of  a 


150        HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

generation  ago  in  an  even  more  abominable  form ;  and  the 
"gombeen-men,"  furnishing  not  only  supplies,  but  liquor 
as  well,  often  took  further  advantage  of  the  peasant  after 
getting  him  full  of  drink. 

In  a  word,  middlemen  were  absorbing  all  the  profits  of 
the  Irish  farmer.  Nothing  was  done  directly.  There  was 
a  circuitous  route  from  the  farmer's  produce  to  the  city 
consumer,  with  tolls  taken  all  along  the  way ;  and  there  was 
a  circuitous  route  between  the  fertilizer  maker  or  implement 
manufacturer  and  his  farmer  purchaser,  with  tolls  taken  all 
along  the  way,  as  Mr,  Horace  Plunkett  kept  saying  with  a 
sort  of  damnable  iteration. 

Another  thing  that  Sir  Horace  saw  (I  now  say  Sir  Horace 
because  the  King  of  England  has  since  knighted  Mr.  Plun- 
kett in  recognition  of  his  great  services)  was  that  if  the 
farmers  were  to  succeed,  they  must  organize  and  co-operate. 
Only  a  considerable  number  of  farmers  working  together 
could  sell  their  products  to  advantage — a  small  farmer  can- 
not profitably  ship  a  dozen  or  two  eggs  or  a  pound  or  two  of 
butter  or  a  basket  or  two  of  vegetables,  whereas,  it  is  very 
different  if  a  hundred  farmers  together  wish  to  ship  their 
combined  product  of  eggs,  poultry  or  truck — and  they  must 
work  together  along  very  businesslike  and  scientific  lines. 
He  saw  that  the  farmers  were  suffering  not  only  because 
the  middlemen's  tolls  were  excessive,  but  also  because  their 
failure  to  unite  prevented  them  from  giving  consumers  uni- 
form, high-quality  products.  He  declared  they  must  fur- 
nish "one  good  kind  of  butter — not  many  samples  of  bad 
and  good  kinds;  a  uniformly  fresh  egg — not  a  dozen  stale 
ones  of  different  shapes  and  sizes,  with  occasional  fresh  ones 
rubbing  shells  with  their  dingy  neighbors ;"  and  that  they 
must  furnish  regular  supplies  at  regular  intervals — not  three 
long  weeks  of  famine  and  then  a  week  of  surfeit. 

"Better  Farming,  Better  Business,  Better  Living" — this 
was  the  threefold  program  which  Sir  Horace  advocated  in 
his  crusade  through  Ireland;  more  productive  farming 
methods,  better  methods  of  buying  and  selling,  and  a  richer 


MAKING    FARMERS   INTO   BUSINESS    MEN  151 

rural  life.  And  he  kept  everlastingly  at  it,  in  season  and 
out  of  season.  After  holding  fifty  meetings  he  got  one 
society  started  in  1889,  and  1890  ended  without  another  one 
being  added  to  this  lonesome  first-born.  But  in  1891  the 
number  jumped  to  seventeen;  next  year  there  were  twenty- 
five  ;  next  year,  thirty ;  next  year,  thirty-three ;  and  then  the 
day  of  small  things  had  ended.  In  1895  the  number  of 
societies  doubled  ;  in  1896  the  one  hundred  mark  was  passed ; 
in  1898,  the  two  hundred  mark;  in  1899,  the  four  hundred 
mark — and  now  there  are  more  than  eight  hundred.  The 
Irish  Agricultural  Organization  Society — popularly  known 
as  the  "I.  A.  O.  S." — is  the  head  of  the  movement,  with  Sir 
Horace  as  the  head  of  the  I.  A.  O.  S.,  and  Mr.  Robert  A. 
Anderson  the  secretary. 

From  these  officers  of  the  I.  A.  O.  S.  I  received  very  full 
information  about  the  various  organizations;  and  with  let- 
ters of  introduction  from  them  I  went  down  into  Kilkenny 
county  to  inspect  the  workings  of  some  of  these  agricul- 
tural organizations  at  first  hand.  Kilkenny  is  a  dairying 
county  and  in  it  are  sixteen  co-operative  creameries ;  four 
farmers'  co-operative  banks ;  eight  agricultural  societies 
for  the  purchase  of  fertilizers,  seeds,  etc.;  a  co-operative 
poultry  society  and  a  farmers'  county  fair. 

In  the  depot  at  Ballyragget,  the  first  Irish  village  I  visited, 
the  most  conspicuous  objects  were  cases  with  the  labels, 
"Guaranteed  Pure  Irish  Creamery  Butter,"  and  other  cases 
for  shipment  bearing  the  legend,  "Guaranteed  New-Laid 
Irish  Eggs,"  with  the  added  name  and  trade-mark  of  the 
"Irish  Federated  Poultry  Societies,  Limited."  I  made  sev- 
eral trips  out  into  the  country  around  Ballyragget  to  see  for 
myself  the  workings  of  the  various  co-operative  societies, 
and  I  probably  cannot  give  a  better  idea  of  the  general 
movement  in  Ireland  than  by  describing  in  detail  the  work 
of  these  individual  Kilkenny  organizations  as  I  saw  them. 

Perhaps  the  best  work  here,  as  in  other  parts  of  Ireland, 
is  done  by  co-operative  creameries.  Muckalee  creamery, 
near  Ballyragget,  was  one  of  the  first  organized  after  Sir 


152         HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

Horace  Plunkett  began  his  work,  and  it  has  been  such  a 
success  that  I  found  the  neighboring  Castlecomer  farmers 
planning  to  establish  a  creamery  of  their  own  if  a  sufficient 
number  of  cows  can  be  secured  for  it.  Milk  is  tested  for 
butter  fat,  and  farmers  are  paid  by  the  pound — not  by  the 
gallon — and  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  butter  fat  in 
their  milk.  As  a  rule,  the  creamery  butter  pays  the  farmer 
six  to  eight  cents  a  pound  more  than  ordinary  homemade 
butter,  and  the  Irish  housewife  is  also  relieved  of  the  work 
of  churning  and  molding  the  product,  besides  getting  back 
eight  and  one-half  gallons  of  separated  milk  for  every  ten 
gallons  supplied.  A  Ballyragget  business  man  told  me 
that  the  Muckalee  creamery  butter  was  bringing  120 
shillings  per  hundredweight  as  compared  with  96  shillings 
for  ordinary  farm  butter;  which  statement  being  translated 
into  plain  United  States  language  (with  the  further  under- 
standing that  this  Irish  hundredweight  means  112  pounds, 
and  not  100  pounds  as  with  us)  means  that  the  creamery 
butter  was  selling  for  about  27  cents  a  pound  and  the  or- 
dinary butter  for  about  21  cents.  Moreover,  all  the  profits 
of  the  creamery  are  divided  pro  rata  among  the  farmers 
who  supply  the  milk,  so  that  the  farmer  has  other  sources 
of  profit  besides  the  gain  from  the  improved  quality  of  his 
product. 

No  less  interesting  than  the  Muckalee  creamery  is  the 
North  Kilkenny  Poultry  Society,  with  headquarters  in  Bally- 
ragget. This  society,  a  combination  of  450  poultry  raisers 
in  and  around  the  village,  has  had  a  rather  significant  his- 
tory. In  the  beginning,  so  a  Kilkenny  farmer  told  me,  it 
had  one  or  two  so-called  "expert"  managers  from  a  distance 
who  turned  out  to  be  "expert"  mainly  in  eating  up  the 
profits,  so  that  for  the  first  three  years  the  society  ran  at  a 
loss. 

Then  something  happened  which  often  happens  in  these 
co-operative  societies,  and  whenever  farmers  unite  and  meet 
together  for  any  purpose,  namely,  hitherto  unappreciated 
local  talent  was  discovered  and  made  use  of.     The  mem- 


MAKING   FARMERS   INTO   BUSINESS    MEN  153 

bers  picked  up  John  Carey,  a  plain  young  farmer  boy  with- 
out any  frills  about  him,  but  with  plenty  of  everyday  com- 
mon sense  and  a  good  character,  and  put  him  at  the  head 
of  the  society.  In  three  years'  time  he  has  wiped  out  the 
old  loss,  increased  the  membership  by  nearly  two  hundred 
and  has  carried  the  total  poultry  and  egg  trade  from  $25,000 
three  years  ago  to  more  than  $40,000  a  year.  Farmers 
get  30  per  cent  more  for  their  eggs  than  they  did  before  they 
organized,  not  merely  because  they  save  the  middleman's 
profits,  but  because  they  ship  eggs  while  they  are  fresh  and 
clean  instead  of  waiting  for  them  to  get  stale  and  dirty,  be- 
cause they  ship  them  properly  graded  and  crated,  and  be- 
cause they  know  just  where  to  ship  in  order  to  secure  top- 
notch  prices.  Ever5rwhere  one  finds  that  co-operation  pays 
the  farmer  increased  profits  not  only  by  transferring  to  his 
pockets  the  tolls  of  unnecessary  middlemen,  but  also  be- 
cause of  its  everlasting  insistence  upon  "quality"  products. 

But  my  saying  that  the  farmer  knows  where  to  ship 
calls  for  a  word  of  parenthetical  explanation.  The  various 
agricultural  organizations  maintain  in  Dublin  what  is 
known  as  the  "I.  A.  W.  S."— the  Irish  Agricultural  Whole- 
sale Society — an  organization  which  not  only  furnishes  the 
society  members  with  fertilizers  and  seeds  at  wholesale 
prices,  but  keeps  in  touch  with  all  the  leading  English  mar- 
kets and  directs  organized  societies  where  to  ship  their  produce. 
My  friend,  Mr.  Carey  of  the  North  Kilkenny  Poultry  So- 
ciety, for  example,  gets  news  from  the  Dublin  I.  A.  W.  S., 
say  each  Saturday,  as  to  what  English  market  he  should 
ship  his  goods  to  the  following  week,  and  the  probable 
price.  The  price  is  then  fixed  at  which  the  society  will  buy 
eggs  during  the  week,  and  all  guaranteed  fresh  eggs  are 
bought  at  this  figure  at  so  much  a  pound. 

The  morning  I  was  there,  as  every  other  week  day,  two 
carriages  had  gone  out  over  a  radius  of  six  miles  to  collect 
eggs ;  and  on  Mondays  they  go  out  as  far  as  ten  miles.  Eggs 
of  the  same  size  and  color  are  shipped  together  and  small 
eggs  are  shipped  as  "seconds."     Dirty  eggs  are  also  shipped 


154         HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE    PROFITS 

separately,  and  care  is  taken  in  every  way  to  maintain  a 
reputation  for  giving  the  buyer  exactly  what  is  promised 
him. 

Another  work  it  is  now  proposed  to  take  up  is  that  of 
fattening  young  chickens  before  shipping  them,  instead  of 
shipping  them  elsewhere  to  be  fattened,  as  is  the  present 
practice. 

In  this  society,  as  in  the  case  of  the  Muckalee  and  all 
other  such  organizations  in  Ireland,  the  profits  go  to  the 
patrons.  There  are  annual  meetings  which  all  the  mem- 
bers attend,  and  the  regular  business  in  the  interim,  is 
conducted  by  an  elected  committee  of  twenty-five  members, 
a  quorum  of  whom  meet  with  the  manager  monthly  for  the 
examination  of  the  books  and  for  general  oversight  of  the 
business.  I  was  told  that  an  average  patron  had  about 
fifty  hens,  and  the  women,  of  course,  look  after  them  in 
most  cases. 

One  other  feature  of  this  society  deserves  mention — that  it 
could  not  have  succeeded  without  the  support  it  received 
from  the  Catholic  priest  and  a  wealthy  landowner  nearby. 
In  fact,  in  nearly  all  the  societies  I  visited  I  found  that  the 
Catholic  "fathers" — nearly  everybody  in  Kilkenny  is  a 
Catholic — were  active  leaders.  I  wish  our  preachers  all 
over  America  showed  as  much  interest  in  the  general  move- 
ments for  rural  development  and  uplift. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

TWO  IRISH  RURAL  CREDIT  SOCIETIES,  AND 

HOW  THEY  WORK 

The  Officials  Were  "Surprised  Entoirely"  at  Mr.  Brett's  Story 
— A  Peep  at  the  Books  Showing  Loans  to  Buy  Cows,  Pigs, 
Seeds,  Fertilizers,  etc.,  and  Also  How  the  Members  Learn 
Business  Ways — Castlecomer  Society  "Has  Never  Lost  a 
Penny  Piece  in  Bad  Debts." 

I  NEXT  visited  :Mr.  John  Brett,  secretary  of  the  "Bally- 
ragget  Agricultural  Bank,"  a  typical  farmers'  credit 
society  of  the  now  world-famous  Raiffeisen  type.  I 
found  in  Mr.  Brett  a  sturdy,  stubby,  good-natured  Irish 
farmer  and  ex-schoolmaster,  whose  thrift  has  brought  him 
in  his  age  into  possession  of  one  hundred  acres  of  land — a 
pretty  large  farm  in  Ireland.  Moreover,  the  Ballyragget 
innkeeper  informed  me  that  he  also  gets  a  pension  as  a 
retired  school  teacher,  he  having  served  full  thirty  years,  I 
believe,  in  the  schoolroom,  and  the  British  government, 
unlike  ours,  having  acted  on  the  theory  that  it  is  just  as 
sound  policy  to  pension  teachers  who  make  life  more  abun- 
dant as  it  is  to  pension  soldiers  who  destroy  life.  As  we 
walked  through  his  fields,  IMr.  Brett  told  me  of  the  workings 
of  the  agricultural  bank,  and  then  took  me  to  his  little  farm- 
house to  show  me  the  "books." 

The  story  of  its  growth  is  interesting,  and  Mr.  Brett 
confided  to  me  that  when  he  recounted  it  before  a  public 
committee  in  Dublin  recently,  they  were  "surprised  en- 
toirely." I  doubt  not,  too,  that  many  of  our  American 
farmers  will  be  "surprised  entirely"  to  find  out  how  much 
superior  are  the  banking  facilities  these  Irish  farmers  have 
worked  out  for  themselves  as  compared  with  our  own. 

166 


156        HOW  FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

Here  is  the  story  in  brief:  In  1901  Mr.  G.  W.  Russell, 
editor  of  the  Irish  Homestead,  the  organ  of  the  Irish  Agri- 
cultural Organization  Society,  went  down  to  Ballyragget 
and  told  them  how  to  proceed  with  their  organization. 
There  were  about  fifty  members  to  start  with;  they  fixed 
a  six-shilling  ($1.44)  entrance  fee;  elected  the  parish  priest 
as  president;  named  an  executive  committee  and  pledged 
their  joint  credit  to  get  a  loan  of  £100  (or  $486  American 
money)  from  the  government.  On  this  loan  they  paid  in- 
terest at  the  rate  of  3  per  cent  and  lent  money  to  the  mem- 
bers at  5  per  cent.  Another  point  that  must  always  be  kept 
in  mind  is  this:  money  is  lent  to  members  for  productive 
purposes  only.  That  is  to  say,  no  money  is  lent  to  a  man 
merely  to  keep  him  going  the  even  tenor  of  his  way,  but 
only  to  help  him  go  forward — to  help  him  buy  stock,  or 
make  some  improvement,  or  take  advantage  of  some  other 
safe  and  profit-promising  farm  investment. 

The  farmer  does  not  put  up  collateral  to  secure  a  loan, 
but  he  must  have  two  solvent  sureties  to  sign  with  him. 
And  here  is  the  keynote  of  the  whole  system :  From  be- 
ginning to  end  it  is  based  on  the  principle  of  co-operation, 
on  the  idea  that  the  members  must  help  one  another,  be- 
lieve in  one  another,  and  join  together  in  a  movement  for 
the  common  uplift.  All  are,  indeed,  neighbors,  for  member- 
ship is  limited  to  persons  living  within  three  miles  of  the 
secretary's  office.  The  members  of  the  bank  are  jointly 
liable  for  the  safety  of  the  money  it  borrows  or  receives  as 
deposits,  and  two  persons  must  indorse  with  the  borrower 
for  every  loan. 

Perhaps,  too,  it  may  be  as  well  to  explain  just  here  that 
while  this  institution  is  called  a  "bank,"  it  is  very  different 
from  the  banks  we  are  accustomed  to  seeing,  it  being,  in 
fact,  only  a  farmers'  mutual  credit  society,  with  one  of  their 
number  as  "cashier,"  keeping  the  books  in  his  own  home. 
There  is  no  expensive  office  to  maintain  or  rent  to  pay,  and 
about  the  only  expense  incurred  is  a  nominal  sum  for  book- 
keeping and  the  annual  examination  of  the  books  by  an 


TWO  IRISH  RURAL  CREDIT  SOCIETIES  157 

expert  auditor  from  the  city.  The  executive  committee 
meets  once  a  month  to  consider  applications  for  loans  and 
to  see  that  all  notes  that  have  fallen  due  are  paid.  The 
members  who  have  surplus  funds  may  deposit  them  in  the 
bank  and  receive  3^  per  cent  interest. 

It  is  not  presumed  that  there  will  be  much  idle  capital; 
the  outstanding  loans  should  about  equal  the  capital  and 
the  deposits;  but  in  case  a  surplus  exists,  it  is  invested  in 
government  bonds  or  deposited  in  the  postal  savings  bank 
or  other  interest-paying  financial  institutions. 

The  first  year  of  its  operation  the  Ballyragget  Co-oper- 
ative Bank  received  no  deposits.  "The  people  would  not 
trust  us  then,"  Mr.  Brett  told  me;  but  now  the  bank  gets 
more  money  than  it  can  handle,  although  it  has  reduced 
the  interest  paid  on  deposits  to  3  per  cent.  Instead  of  the 
£100  ($486)  capital  with  which  the  bank  started,  it  now 
has  capital  and  deposits  aggregating  thirteen  times  as  much, 
and  it  has  extended  its  influence  from  a  three-mile  radius 
to  a  five-mile  radius. 

The  good  this  bank  has  accomplished  in  the  community 
is  almost  incalculable.  The  farmer-members  now  borrow 
money  from  it  at  5  per  cent  besides  getting  back  the 
profits  that  the  bank  makes,  and  they  can  borrow  for 
a  period  of  twelve  months  in  case  the  money  is 
needed  for  so  long  a  time.  Before  the  coming  of 
the  bank,  if  a  Ballyragget  farmer  wanted  a  loan,  he  had 
to  go  to  Kilkenny,  the  county  seat,  pay  6  or  7  per  cent  for  a 
loan,  take  two  neighbors  with  him  to  sign  the  note  as 
securities,  and  feed  and  treat  these  indorsers,  and  go  through 
the  same  expensive  proceeding  to  get  the  loan  renewed  at 
the  end  of  three  or  four  months — if  he  could.  With  such  a 
system,  of  course,  few  farmers  got  the  benefit  of  credit,  as 
much  needed  in  farming  operations  as  in  business  opera- 
tions, and  when  loans  were  obtained,  the  excessive  cost  fre- 
quently left  the  farmer  worse  off  than  before.  Now  all 
this  is  changed.  If  a  farmer  needs  $10  to  $100  for  a  really 
productive  purpose,  he  simply  gets  two  of  his  neighbors 


158         HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

to  sign  with  him ;  gets  the  money  from  the  farmers'  mutual 
^>ank  at  5  per  cent ;  borrows,  if  necessary  for  a  longer  period 
than  the  city  banks  would  have  lent  to  him,  and  has  no 
embarrassing  red  tape  to  go  through  with. 

Or  if  an  exact  summary  of  the  advantages  of  these  small 
co-operative  banks  is  wanted,  let  us  say: 

(i)  The  farmer  gets  small  sums  when  needed,  such  as 
it  would  not  pay  him  to  go  through  the  trouble  of  trying 
to  borrow  from  a  city  bank ; 

(2)  The  higher  interest  rate  and  the  expenses  of  sureties, 
investigations,  etc.,  formerly  made  most  bank  loans  cost 
him  over  12  per  cent,  whereas  this  cost  is  cut  in  half  under 
the  co-operative  system ; 

(3)  The  city  banks  will  lend  for  only  three  or  four  months 
(our  whole  banking  system  being  built  to  meet  the  city 
man's  needs),  while  the  agricultural  bank  recognizes  the 
fact  that  in  farming  one  must  frequently  borrow  for  twelve 
months  or  not  at  all ; 

(4)  The  simple  operation  of  having  two  solvent  friends 
or  neighbors  indorse  one's  note  prevents  the  necessity  of 
putting  up  collateral  or  making  a  mortgage,  besides  stim- 
ulating brotherliness  and  co-operation;    and — 

(5)  Limiting  loans  to  those  made  for  productive  pur- 
poses, prevents  the  bank  from  being  imposed  upon  by 
shiftless  farmers,  and  prevents  any  farmers  from  tying  up 
or  losing  their  estates  by  reckless  and  indiscriminate  bor- 
rowing. The  agricultural  bank  is  for  the  purpose  of  getting 
the  farmer  out  of  debt,  not  of  getting  him  into  it. 

To  illustrate  more  clearly  just  what  this  particular  bank 
is  doing,  let  me  mention  some  of  the  loans  as  I  found  them 
in  Mr.  Brett's  books. 

First,  there  was  a  loan  of  $125  for  twelve  months  to 
enable  a  certain  farmer  "to  hold  over  stock  for  a  better 
sale." 

Then  a  loan  of  $60  for  twelve  months  to  help  someone 
buy  a  cow. 


TWO   IRISH   RURAL   CREDIT   SOCIETIES  159 

Twenty-five  dollars  for  twelve  months,  "to  purchase  a 
grass  take  to  graze  a  horse." 

Sixty  dollars  to  buy  two  calves. 

Forty-five  dollars  to  buy  seeds  and  fertilizers. 

Seventy  dollars  to  buy  calves. 

Ten  dollars  to  buy  two  pigs. 

One  hundred  dollars  to  buy  young  stock. 

Thirty-five  dollars  to  buy  a  heifer. 

Twelve  dollars  and  forty  cents  ($2.40  payable  monthly) 
to  buy  small  pigs. 

Tw^enty  dollars  to  enable  a  farmer  to  hold  over  cattle. 

The  minutes  show  that  the  official  committee  members  who 
meet  monthly  and  pass  upon  all  applications,  act  very  pru- 
dently and  carefully,  knowing  that  their  credit  is  pledged, 
as  well  as  that  of  other  members,  for  the  solvency  of  the 
society.     Notice  these  typical  entries : 

"Thomas  Lacy,  £6  to  buy  a  horse;  granted." 

"Michael  Murphy,  £7  to  buy  two  calves;  granted." 

"William  Phelan,  £12  to  buy  a  cow;  refused,  as  one 
surety  was  objected  to ;  granted  on  condition  that  two 
solvent  sureties  can  be  obtained." 

Another  meeting :  "Mr.  Michael  Clancy's  loan  of  £9  was  over- 
due. He  attended  and  offered  £2  on  account  of  interest. 
The  £2  offered  was  not  accepted.  He  was  ordered  to  pay 
the  full  sum  or  proceedings  would  be  taken  at  the  quarter 
session  for  the  recovery  of  the  loan." 

Again :  "Michael  Downey  attended  and  obtained  a  fur- 
ther time  for  two  months  for  payment  of  loan.  Thomas 
Lacy,  ditto,  till  he  could  sell  his  barley." 

And  so  it  goes.  Men  thus  have  the  opportunity  of  bor- 
rowing who  could  not  borrow  from  an  ordinary  bank,  and 
the  loans  to  the  farmers  have  enabled  them  to  make  and 
keep  many  a  shilling  in  the  neighborhood.  "We  lend  a  man, 
say  £15  to  buy  a  young  cow,"  said  Mr.  Brett,  "and  he  pays 
15  shillings  [5  per  cent]  interest,  and  at  the  end  of  a  year 
has  a  cow  worth  £18,  and  a  calf  besides — all  for  the  sake 
of  the  15  shillings." 


160        HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE  PROFITS 

The  Ballyragget  Agricultural  Bank  does  business  on 
such  a  narrow  margin  that  its  profits  no  year  have  ex- 
ceeded $25  or  fallen  below  $5.  A  few  dollars  a  year  to 
Mr.  Brett  for  bookkeeping  covers  the  entire  official  expense, 
and  as  his  home  is  the  office,  there  is  no  charge  for  rent.  I 
notice,  however,  that  Sir  Horace  Plunkett,  in  his  latest 
president's  address  strongly  advises  that  these  co-operative 
banks  should  not  attempt  to  lend  money  at  too  low  a  rate 
— especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  any  profits  will  go  as 
reserve  fund  in  which  the  members  are  equally  interested — 
and  that  6  per  cent  rather  than  five  should  be  the  normal 
rate  on  loans. 

No  loans  are  made  for  over  $150.  Originally  the  maxi- 
mum was  $50,  but  this  amount  was  soon  raised  to  $75. 
The  first  of  this  year  ninety  loans  were  outstanding  aggre- 
gating over  $4,000. 

I  also  paid  a  visit  to  the  Castlecomer  Credit  Society,  or 
Agricultural  Bank,  which  I  found  in  no  less  flourishing 
condition  than  the  one  at  Ballyragget.  All  these  banks 
operate  on  the  same  general  principles,  so  the  rules  of  the 
Castlecomer  Society  are  practically  the  same  as  those  I 
have  given  for  its  neighbor.  It  has  existed  for  twelve  years 
and  "has  never  lost  a  penny  piece  in  bad  debts,"  as  the 
secretary,  Mr.  Joseph  Tobin,  told  me,  though,  of  course,  it 
has  had  to  resort  to  proceedings  once  in  a  while.  On  Jan- 
uary I  its  capital  consisted  of  about  $3,800  borrowed  at  4 
per  cent,  and  $2,000  in  members'  deposits  bearing  3^  per 
cent  interest,  practically  the  entire  $5,800  total  being  loaned 
out  to  members  at  5  per  cent.  Only  two  loans  were  then 
overdue  and  these  have  since  been  repaid.  The  entrance 
fee  is  one  shilling,  and  there  are  278  members.  The  maximum 
amount  that  can  be  lent  any  one  person  is  $100;  and  there 
is  a  fine  of  15  per  cent  for  allowing  a  loan  to  become  over- 
due. The  annual  turnover  grew  from  $1,250  the  first  year 
to  $2,000  the  second,  $3,000  the  third,  $4,000  the  fifth  and 
$6,000  the  sixth,  and  is  now  $10,000  a  year. 

In  addition  to  all  the  usual  society  books  and  records. 


TWO  IRISH  RURAL  CREDIT  SOCIETIES  161 

such  as  I  found  at  Ballyragget,  Mr.  Tobin  showed  me  an 
alphabetical  index  which  indicates  at  a  glance  whether  or 
not  a  member  has  money  borrowed  or  is  surety  for  a  neigh- 
bor-borrower, and  enables  the  executive  committee  at  its 
monthly  meeting  to  determine  instantly  whether  or  not 
any  member  should  be  granted  a  further  loan  or  accepted 
as  a  surety  for  another  borrower.  And  the  success  of  the 
Castlecomer  Co-operative  Bank  in  aiding  the  farmers  of 
the  community  has  been  no  less  marked  than  in  the  case  of 
Ballyragget. 

"I  know  many  members,"  said  Mr.  Tobin,  "who  pay  back 
the  money  at  the  end  of  the  year  out  of  the  profits  made 
on  the  original  loan  and  have  the  loan  money  itself  left 
them  clear." 

It  will  be  seen  from  the  foregoing  that  the  Ballyragget 
and  Castlecomer  credit  societies  are  typical  illustrations  of 
the  Raiffeisen  farmers'  bank  of  which  the  distinguishing 
features  are  (i)  the  unlimited  liability  of  the  members,  (2) 
membership  limited  to  a  neighborhood  where  all  know  one 
another,  and  (3)  loans  are  made  only  for  productive  pur- 
poses. The  following  extracts  which  I  have  copied  from 
the  "Rules  of  the  Ballyragget  Agricultural  Bank,"  are  inter- 
esting in  this  connection : 

Character  of  Loans — "Loans  to  members  shall  only  be  made  on  con- 
dition that  the  purpose  for  which  money  is  borrowed  is  such  that  there 
is  a  sufficient  prospect  of  the  loan  repaying  itself  by  the  production, 
business,  or  economy  which  it  will  enable  the  borrower  to  effect." 

Restricted  Membership — "Any  person  of  good  character  approved 
by  the  committee,  and  who  resides  within  five  miles  from  the  office  of 
the  society,  is  qualified  for  admission  to  membership,  provided  that 
his  liabiHty  is  not  already  pledged  by  membership  in  a  similar  associa- 
tion." 

Liability — "Every  member  of  the  society  shall  be,  equally  with  every 
other  member,  jointly  and  severally  liable  for  all  debts  incurred  by  the 
society,  and  for  any  loan  which  a  member,  or  his  sureties  fail  to  pay; 
but  each  member  of  the  society  shall  be  liable  only  for  the  debts  in- 
curred and  loans  advanced  during  his  membership." 

"One  Man,  One  Vote" — "No  member  shall  be  entitled  to  more  than 


162         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

one  vote  upon  any  matter  submitted  for  consideration  at  any  general 
meeting." 

Directors  Serve  Free — "The  committee  of  management  shall  be 
elected  at  the  annual  general  meeting  of  the  society.  The  members 
shall  be  eligible  for  re-election  on  the  expiry  of  their  term  of  office. 
.     .     .     They  shall  not  receive  salary  or  other  remuneration." 

Monthly  Meetings  of  the  Loan  Committee — "A  statement  of  ac- 
counts shall  be  presented  by  the  secretary  or  other  officer  appointed  by 
the  committee  showing  the  loans  outstanding,  deposits  on  hand,  and 
monejs  received  or  paid  since  the  last  meeting.  This  statement  shall 
be  checked  and  signed  by  two  members  of  the  committee.  The  secre- 
tary shall  then  report  as  to  the  installments  of  loans  due  and  unpaid, 
and  the  action  to  be  taken  in  each  case  shall  be  determined.  He  shall 
then  read  the  list  of  applications  for  loans  which  may  not  have  been 
previously  granted  owing  to  funds  not  having  been  available,  and  a 
decision  shall  be  arrived  at  as  to  which  of  these  shall  be  granted  if 
additional  funds  are  reported  as  being  available.  Any  fresh  applica- 
tions for  loans  will  then  be  considered  and  the  course  to  be  taken  with 
each  determined." 

A  Council  of  Control — "In  addition  to  the  committee  there  may  be 
a  council  of  control,  consisting  of  not  more  than  five  members,  who 
shall  not  be  members  of  the  committee,  but  who  shall  be  elected  an- 
nually by  the  members  at  the  general  meeting.  .  .  .  The  council 
shall  meet  at  least  once  every  three  months  to  review  the  business 
transacted  by  the  c  mmittee,  and  shall  satisfy  itself  that  all  rules  have 
been  complied  with. ' 

Rules  for  Loans  -"(a)  Loans,  when  approved  by  the  committee, 
shall  be  granted  to  nembers  who  are  able  to  obtain  two  sureties  ap- 
proved by  the  comr.  :ttee,  or  who  can  give  such  security  as  the  com- 
mittee deem  sufficient. 

"(b)  No  member  who  is  in  possession  of  money  lent  to  him  by 
the  society  shall  be  accepted  as  surety  for  another  member  requiring  a 
loan,  unless  the  committee  are  unanimous  that  it  is  safe  to  do  so. 

"(c)  Members  who  desire  to  obtain  a  loan  shall  fill  up  a  form  stat- 
ing the  object  for  which  the  loan  is  required,  the  term  for  which  it  is 
asked,  whether  it  is  desired  to  repay  the  loan  by  installments,  the  sure- 
ties who  will  sign  with  him  any  agreement  or  promissory  note,  or  the 
other  security  which  is  offered.  The  application,  if  forwarded  to  the 
secretary  not  less  than  two  days  prior  to  a  meeting  of  the  committee, 
shall  be  considered  at  that  meeting. 

"(d)  If  the  committee  are  satisfied  with  the  trustworthiness  of  the 
applicant,  the  sufficiency  of  the  security  offered,  the  profitableness  by 
productiveness  or  saving  which  the  use  of  the  loan  may  effect,  and  if 
they  have  sufficient  funds  under  their  control,  they  m"';  sanction  the 
loan. 


TWO  IRISH  RURAL  CREDIT  SOCIETIES  163 

"(e)  No  loan  shall  be  granted  for  a  period  exceeding  one  year 
unless  it  be  made  repayable  by  regular  installments  of  equal  amount; 
nor  shall  any  loan  be  granted  to  a  member  which  shall  make  the  total 
sum  owing  from  him  to  the  society  at  any  time  to  exceed  fifty  pounds" 
($250). 

No  Profits  to  Be  Given  Members — "No  profit,  bonus  or  dividend  of 
any  kind  shall  be  divided  amongst  the  members.  Any  surplus  accru- 
ing to  the  society,  after  payment  of  the  cost  of  administration,  shall  be 
carried  to  a  reserve  fund.  If  any  loss  be  incurred  by  the  society,  the 
annual  general  meeting  may  vote  such  sum  as  it  may  think  desirable 
from  the  reserve  fund  in  order  to  meet  the  deficiency.  In  no  case 
shall  the  reserve  fund  be  divided,  and,  in  case  of  dissolution  of  the 
society,  it  shall  be  devoted  to  some  useful  purpose  in  the  district  in 
which  the  society  operated,  and  determined  upon  by  the  meeting  at 
which  the  dissolution  of  the  society  takes  place." 

Annual  Auditing  Insured— "The  committee  of  management  shall, 
once  at  least  in  every  year,  submit  the  accounts,  together  with  a  gen- 
eral statement  of  the  same,  and  all  necessary  vouchers  up  to  the  31st 
December  then  last  for  audit,  either  to  one  of  the  public  auditors 
appointed  under  the  Friendly  Societies'  Act,  or  to  two  or  more  persons 
appointed  as  auditors  by  the  members  at  the  annual  general  meeting 
each  year." 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  LARGE  OUTLOOK  OF  THE  IRISH  AGRICUL- 
TURAL LEADERS 

First  a  Word  About  a  Typical  Co-operative  Agricultural  So- 
ciety— "The  United  Irish  Women"  and  Their  Purposes — 
Irish  Leaders  Recognise  Twofold  Problem  of  Agricultural 
Organization:  '(i)  Scientific  Production  and  (2)  Scientific 
Marketing. 

IN  CASTLECOMER  also  is  located  the  "Valley  of  the 
Deen  Co-operative  Agricultural  Society,"  a  society  of 
farmers  organized  for  the  purpose  of  saving  money  on 
the  purchase  of  "seeds  and  manure" — everybody 
abroad  says  "manures"  when  referring  to  commercial  fer- 
tilizers. It  started  several  years  ago  with  100  members. 
Now  it  has  280,  and  does  an  annual  business  of  about  $2,500 
in  fertilizers  and  implements  (mainly  fertilizers,  for  the 
farms  over  here  are  too  small  to  make  profitable  use  of  ex- 
tensive farm  machinery) ;  $1,250  in  seeds,  and  $1,600  in 
feedstuffs. 

The  society  charges  5  per  cent  profit  on  purchases — the 
profits,  after  deducting  a  $50  a  year  salary  to  the  secretary, 
becoming  the  property  of  the  members ;  and  of  the  total  sub- 
scription entrance  fee  of  $5,  only  50  cents  has  been  called 
for.  Every  member  takes  one  $1.20  share  in  the  general 
"Irish  Agricultural  Wholesale  Society"  of  Dublin,  to  which 
reference  has  already  been  made,  and  through  which  all 
orders  are  placed.  The  society  owns  two  manure  spreaders 
and  two  spraying  machines  for  the  joint  use  of  all  the  mem- 
bers— an  illustration  of  the  idea  of  co-operative  ownership 
of  expensive  farm  machines  which  is  becoming  quite  popu- 
lar in  Ireland.     Sixteen  thousand  Irish  farmers  are  mem- 

164 


OUTLOOK    OF    THE    IRISH    AGRICULTURAL    LEADERS         165 

bers  of  such  agricultural  societies  as  this,  and  the  members 
not  only  save  much  money  on  their  purchases,  but  they 
have  become  interested  in  fertilizer  subjects  and  have  come 
to  insist  upon  purer  seeds  and  upon  fertilizer  brands  more 
suited  to  special  crops  and  soils. 

A  few  years  ago,  so  I  was  told  by  Mr.  Ward,  the  secretary 
of  the  Valley  of  the  Deen  Society,  the  farmers  took  any 
fertilizer  that  was  put  up  in  bags  and  smelled  strong  enough, 
but  they  have  now  grown  far  "keener,"  as  the  British  phrase 
has  it,  and  in  consequence  their  fertilizer  money  is  much 
more  wisely  spent. 

I  have  now  referred  briefly  to  the  work  of  the  co-opera- 
tive creamery  near  Ballyragget,  and  the  poultry  society 
there;  the  co-operative  agricultural  bank  there,  and  its  fel- 
low at  Castlecomer ;  and  the  agricultural  society  for  the  pur- 
chase of  goods  at  Castlecomer.  This  list,  however,  does 
not  exhaust  the  forms  of  co-operative  endeavor  in  the  county 
of  Kilkenny  and  other  parts  of  Ireland.  For  the  first  time 
the  farmers'  wives  and  daughters  are  being  organized,  and 
there  is  a  branch  of  the  "United  Irish  Women"  at  Ballyrag- 
get which  has  already  done  some  notable  work. 

Through  arrangements  made  with  the  I.  A.  O.  S.  and 
the  department  of  agriculture,  experts  are  sent  to  theee 
women's  societies  to  give  instructions  in  domestic  science, 
cooking,  nursing,  dressmaking,  sanitation,  poultry  work, 
gardening  and  to  help  the  women  as  members  of  the  poul- 
try and  dairy  societies,  as  well  as  in  organizing  country 
amusements,  local  fairs,  flower  shows,  concerts,  dances, 
rural  libraries,  etc.  In  some  cases  prizes  are  given  for  the 
best  kept  gardens  and  the  most  attractive  homes.  The 
annual  membership  fee  in  the  "United  Irish  Women"  is  60 
cents,  and  one  of  the  most  striking  features  in  it,  as  in  the 
men's  societies,  is  that  Catholics  and  Protestants — even 
Catholic  priests  and  Protestant  ministers  when  called  upon  to 
aid  any  movement  inaugurated  by  the  women — forget  their 
religious  differences  in  a  united  effort  for  community  bet- 
terment. 


166         HOW    FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND    DOUBLE   PROFITS 

It  will  be  seen  from  all  this  that  the  agricultural  societies 
in  Ireland  are  very  businesslike.  Each  society  works  for 
a  definite  purpose,  yet  all  are  clubbed  together  through  a 
common  membership  in  the  I.  A.  O.  S.,  to  whose  support 
all  local  branches  contribute. 

When  I  asked  Secretary  Anderson  how  they  managed  to 
keep  the  farmers  organized,  he  answered,  "Simply  by  show- 
ing them  that  it  pays."  If  farmers  and  farmers'  wives  get 
30  per  cent  more  for  their  eggs  by  working  together 
through  poultry  societies;  and  six  cents  a  pound  more  for 
their  butter  by  forming  co-operative  creameries;  and  are 
able  frequently  to  double  a  year's  profits  by  being  able  to 
borrow  needed  sums  from  co-operative  banks ;  or  save  $2 
or  $3  a  ton  on  fertilizers  by  ordering  in  a  body — when  such 
practical  benefits  as  these  are  in  evidence,  one  is  not  likely 
to  hear  much  of  the  old,  old  story,  "Farmers  won't  stick  to- 
gether." In  Ireland  they  do  stick  and  they  do  succeed. 
Because  of  this  fact,  they  feel  a  new  dignity  for  themselves, 
and  the  state  and  the  nation  feel  a  new  respect  for  them. 
As  Sir  Horace  says :  "I  do  not  know  how  it  is  in  America, 
but  at  home  I  have  observed  that,  when  legislation  affect- 
ing any  particular  interest  is  under  discussion  in  Parliament 
or  elsewhere,  those  who  speak  on  behalf  of  that  interest 
are  listened  to  with  an  attention  strictly  proportionate  to 
the  organization  of  those  they  speak  for — not  political  or- 
ganization, but  business  organization." 

There  is  just  one  other  big  fact  to  which  I  would  call 
attention  before  leaving  our  discussion  of  Irish  co-operation, 
and  that  is  the  broad  outlook  of  the  leaders  of  Irish  agricul- 
tural co-operation.  They  are  not  one-idea  men.  They 
see  what  so  many  over-zealous  converts  to  co-operation  in 
America  seem  to  forget,  namely,  that  the  wide-awake  busi- 
ness man  looks  after  two  things — economy  of  production 
and  economy  of  distribution,  and  that  the  wise  farmer  must 
also  look  after  both.  He  cannot  afford  to  neglect  either. 
As  Sir  Horace  Plunkett  says :  "An  efficient  department 
[of  agriculture]  can  help  the  farmer  to  grow  more  crops 


OUTLOOK    OF    THE    IRISH    AGRICULTURAL    LEADERS         167 

and  breed  better  cattle  and  do  these  things  at  less  expendi- 
ture than  when  his  output  was  smaller  in  amount  and  in- 
ferior in  quality.  But  he  will  not  get  a  full  reward  of  his 
intelligence  and  enterprise,  unless  he  learns  to  control  the 
distribution  of  his  produce  and  obtains  working  capital  on 
suitable  terms.  This  he  cannot  do  until  he  adopts  the  co- 
operative method.  On  the  other  hand,  what  is  the  use  of 
organizing  the  farmers,  if  they  are  not  making  good  use 
of  their  land?" 

The  two  things  must  indeed  go  hand  in  hand,  and  those 
leaders  are  not  wise  who  try  to  encourage  one  policy  at 
the  expense  of  the  other,  or  try  to  make  it  appear  that  one 
policy  is  at  enmity  with  the  other.  The  farmer  does  need 
to  learn  how  to  produce  his  beef  more  economically.  He 
also  needs  to  know  how  to  market  this  beef  more  econom- 
ically after  he  makes  it,  and  thereby  save  to  himself  the 
millions  the  beef  trust  takes  in  unnecessary  tolls  between 
the  farmer's  barnyard  and  the  city  butcher  shop.  The 
farmer  does  need  to  know  how  to  make  his  cotton  with  the 
smallest  possible  outlay  of  sweat  and  purse.  He  also  needs 
to  know  how  to  save  to  his  own  pocketbook  the  millions  and 
millions  of  appreciation  in  value  between  the  time  the  cot- 
ton leaves  his  hands  in  November  and  the  time  the  norma! 
price  level  is  reached  in  May. 

The  present  prosperity  of  the  Irish  farmer  seems  to  me 
to  be  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  nearly  all  his  leaders  have 
recognized  the  twofold  character  of  his  problem.  Sir 
Horace  Plunkett  and  other  leaders,  in  organizing  the  farm- 
ers, have  strenuously  insisted  at  the  same  time  upon  better 
methods  of  farming,  while  the  department  of  agriculture, 
always  insistent  upon  more  progressive  farm  practice,  has 
also  searched  the  world  over  for  examples  of  agricultural 
co-operation  and  has  been  as  careful  to  give  lessons  in  mar- 
keting farm  crops  as  in  producing  farm  crops — a  thing  to 
which  our  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  has 
never,  until  very  recently,  given  any  attention  whatever. 

At  the  beginning  of  his  movement  for  organizing  the 


168        HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

farmers,  Sir  Horace  Plunkett  saw  clearly  that  there  would 
be  no  hope  for  the  Irish  farmer's  financial  salvation  unless 
he  quit  the  ways  of  his  grandfathers  and  learned  to  produce 
as  economically  as  the  farmer  on  the  Continent ;  and  he  was 
so  intent  upon  getting  better  methods  of  farming  that  he 
braved  local  prejudice  and  brought  in  agricultural  experts 
from  foreign  countries — for  the  very  good  and  sufficient 
reason  that  at  that  time  he  could  get  better  men  abroad  than 
he  could  find  at  home.  And  ever  since  he  has  preached 
better  methods  of  production  as  well  as  better  methods  of 
distribution.  Thus  in  his  latest  annual  report  we  find  him 
saying : 

"The  Irish  dairy  farmer,  by  the  simple  process  of  weighing  each 
cow's  milk  daily  and  periodically  testing  the  milk  for  butter  fat,  can 
eliminate  all  his  unprofitable  milkers,  and  by  judicious  breeding  fill 
their  places  with  cows  which  would  leave  a  handsome  margin  of  profit. 
In  one  reported  case,  a  farmer  gave  figures  to  show  that  one  cow  in 
his  herd  had  given  him  a  return  of  il2  ($60)  for  her  milk,  while  an- 
other cow  had  produced  but  £5  ($25).  A  25  per  cent  increase  in  the 
milking  capacity  of  our  cows  would  mean  an  increased  turnover  of 
close  upon  £500,000  ($2,500,000)  a  year." 

And  again  with  regard  to  poultry: 

"It  is  no  exaggeration  to  say  that  the  present  output  of  eggs  might 
be  almost  doubled  without  increasing  the  material  cost  of  their  keep  or 
the  number  of  fowls  which  are  kept.  It  is  not  uncommon  to  find  hens 
producing  150  eggs  per  annum,  while  it  is  pretty  safe  to  say  that  the 
general  average  of  Irish  laying  fowls  would  be  little  more  than  half 
this  figure.  The  150-egg  hen  does  not  cost  any  more  to  keep  than  the 
75-egg  producer." 

Moreover,  the  Irish  Department  of  Agricultural  and 
Technical  Instruction,  in  addition  to  all  its  usual  depart- 
mental labors,  has  taught  better  methods  of  handling,  pack- 
ing and  shipping  all  kinds  of  farm  products — a  work  which 
should  be  more  generally  prosecuted  by  our  departments 
of  agriculture  in  America.  In  our  Southern  Appalachians, 
for  example,  we  have  a  great  apple-growing  country,  but 


OUTLOOK    OF    THE    IRISH    AGRICULTURAL    LEADERS         169 

the  farmers  will  never  half  realize  upon  their  opportunities 
until  they  learn  better  methods  of  packing  and  shipping. 
Nor  shall  we  ever  receive  one-tenth  of  our  possible  dairying 
profits  until  we  learn  better  methods  of  handling  our  milk 
and  butter.  I  have  before  me  now  some  typical  bulletins 
issued  by  the  Irish  Department  of  Agriculture :  "The  Pack- 
ing of  Butter,"  "The  Marketing  of  Fruit,"  "Better  Milk" 
(issued  for  the  purpose  of  insisting  upon  that  scrupulous 
cleanliness  which  is  absolutely  essential  wherever  any 
profitable  milk  market  is  to  be  maintained),  etc.  The  de- 
partment has  also  issued  leaflets  on  agricultural  co-opera- 
tion in  Denmark,  Germany,  Switzerland  and  Belgium. 

From  all  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  progress  the  Irish 
farmer  has  been  making  has  been  symmetrical,  compre- 
hensive and  well  rounded. 

The  good  work  began  with  their  getting  control  of  the 
land,  as  the  English  government  has  now  helped  them  to 
do  with  almost  amazing  success.  Of  the  total  farming 
area  of  18,739,644  acres,  the  tenants  purchased  2,500,000 
acres  under  land  purchase  acts  from  1870  to  1896,  while 
under  the  vastly  more  liberal  acts  of  1903-1909  they  have 
purchased  outright  nearly  4,000,000  acres  and  have  pro- 
ceedings pending  for  the  purchase  of  nearly  5,000,000  more, 
the  total  area  purchased  outright,  or  for  which  purchase  pro- 
ceedings are  pending,  aggregating  11,421,448  acres,  as 
against  only  7,318,196  remaining  undisturbed  in  the  hands 
of  old-time  landowners. 

In  spite  of  this  vast  increase  in  land  ownership  as  a  be- 
ginning, however,  the  Irish  farmer  today  might  be  a  dis- 
couraged debtor  instead  of  the  buoyant  and  hopeful  and 
forward-looking  man  that  he  is,  if  his  leaders  had  not  real- 
ized that  the  land  would  not  long  remain  in  his  possession 
unless  he  developed  qualities  of  initiative,  enterprise  and 
self-help. 

It  has  also  been  noted  all  over  Ireland  that  getting  to- 
gether for  business  purposes  has  also  led  the  farmers  to 
join  hands  in  many  movements  for  "mutual,  intellectual 


170 


HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 


and  social  improvements,"  and  that  the  stimulus  of  organ- 
ization often  leads  a  dormant,  backward  and  unprogressive 
community  to  show  a  progressiveness  and  enterprise  in  its 
organized  capacity  which  is  nothing  less  than  amazing. 

"Better  farming,  better  business,  better  living" — Sir 
Horace  Plunkett  and  his  associates  have  gone  far  toward 
the  realization  of  their  threefold  program.  They  brought 
into  existence  the  department  of  agricultural  and  technical 
instruction  which  has  taken  over  their  main  work  in  helping 
the  farmer  to  do  better  farming ;  they  have  established  the 
various  co-operative  societies  which  have  made  the  farmer 
a  business  man — a  wise  manager  of  values  as  well  as  a 
wise  producer  of  them ;  and  their  latest  organization  of 
United  Irish  Women  is  to  hasten  that  era  of  better  living — 
more  beautiful  homes,  better  schools,  a  richer  social  life  and 
the  production  of  an  environment  in  which  human  beings  may 
be  happier  and  more  helpful — which  is  the  proper  goal  of 
all  our  striving. 


CHAPTER  XXI 

AGRICULTURAL  CO-OPERATION  IN  ENGLAND 

Why  It  Has  Never  Flourished  There — The  Evils  of  Land- 
lordism and  Some  Remedies — Breaking  Up  Big  Estates  in 
England — Australia's  Plan  for  Graduated  Taxation  and  for 
Imposing  Heavier  Rates  on  Absentee  Landlords — Co-opera- 
tion Among  English  City  Workers. 

THERE  is  a  very  old  story  about  an  author  who 
was  writing  a  book  on  the  wild  animals  of  the 
Emerald  Isle,  with  a  separate  chapter  for  each 
species.  When  he  came  to  write  the  chapter  on 
"Snakes  in  Ireland,"  it  consisted  of  a  single  sentence : 
"There  are  none." 

Now,  my  chapter  on  "Agricultural  Co-operation  in  Eng- 
land" will  not  be  so  brief  as  that.  In  the  first  place,  agri- 
cultural co-operation  has  attained  some  small  degree  of 
success  here  and  there  in  England,  so  I  cannot  dismiss  it 
as  non-existent.  Moreover,  there  is  a  very  interesting  les- 
son for  the  rest  of  the  world  in  the  failure  of  co-operation 
to  develop  among  English  farmers.  That  lesson  is  that 
proper  rural  development  is  impossible  where  landlord- 
ism prevails,  no  matter  what  the  system  of  renting  may 
be.  The  Latin  writer  Pliny  observed  1,900  years  ago  that 
large  estates  had  been  the  ruin  of  Italy  and  were  then  ruin- 
ing the  provinces,  and  nineteen  centuries  since  Pliny  have 
only  added  constantly  increasing  strength  to  his  doctrine. 

In  one  day's  journey  in  rural  England  I  heard  of  three 
estates,  one  of  10,000  acres,  one  of  11,000  acres  and  one  of 
6,000  acres.  I  have  before  me  now  the  daily  paper's  an- 
nouncement of  the  approaching  wedding  of  the  Marquis  of 

171 


172        HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

Anglesey,  age  twenty-eight,  "who  is  the  owner  of  about 
30,000  acres  of  land."  It  is  said  that  70  people  own  one- 
half  of  Scotland  and  710  people  one-fourth  of  England  and 
Wales.  "According  to  the  returns  of  1872,  2,250  persons 
owned  half  the  inclosed  land  of  England  and  Wales,  while 
nine-tenths  of  Scotland  was  owned  by  1,700  people  and  two- 
thirds  of  Ireland  by  1,942  people."  And  the  situation  seems 
not  to  have  changed  materially  since  that  time  except  in 
Ireland.  In  Great  Britain  in  1910  "28,238,445  acres  under 
crops  and  grass  were  occupied  by  tenants  and  3,907,485 
acres  by  owners" — over  seven-eighths  by  tenants  and  less 
than  one-eighth  by  owners. 

Such  a  condition  is  naturally  ruinous  to  every  form  of 
genuine  agricultural  progress.  "This,"  says  Mr.  A.  G. 
Gardner,  "explains  why  England  had  no  share  in  the  revolu- 
tion which  marked  the  last  twenty-five  years  in  the  nine- 
teenth century.  That  revolution  has  touched  every  coun- 
try in  Europe  except  Britain.  It  has  spread  from  Denmark 
to  Liberia,  from  France  to  Serbia.  ...  It  marked  the 
breakdown  of  one  system — the  system  of  the  individual 
unscientific  and  unorganized  agriculture — and  the  emer- 
gence of  another,  the  system  of  collective  effort,  based  on 
the  application  of  science  and  modern  invention  to  the  in- 
dustry of  agriculture.  The  small  holder,  independent,  se- 
cure, must  precede  the  co-operative  system  through  which 
alone  agriculture  can  be  restored." 

Mr.  Gardner's  contentions  are  sound.  Thrifty,  progres- 
sive, scientific  agriculture  of  the  highest  type  is  possible 
only  where  the  farmers  own  the  land  they  till.  In  Den- 
mark, where  co-operation  has  gone  farthest,  88  per  cent  of 
the  land  is  cultivated  by  owners;  and  Ireland  did  nothing 
with  agricultural  co-operation  until  the  farmers  began  to 
own  the  land  they  farmed. 

Rider  Haggard,  who  visited  Denmark  to  study  the  situa- 
tion without  bias,  went  back  to  England  convinced  that  the 
only  way  to  get  the  same  benefits  for  England,  was  to  help 
the  English  tenants  buy  small  farms  of  their  own.     Co- 


AGRICULTURAL    CO-OPERATION    IN    ENGLAND  173 

operation,  he  declared,  "will  only  take  real  root  in  an  agri- 
cultural community  which  owns,  and  does  not  hire  the  land 
it  works,  and  even  then  will  only  attain  to  complete  success 
and  prosperity  if  the  people  of  that  community  are  very 
hardworking,  educated  in  the  true  sense,  kindly,  tolerant- 
natured  and  intelligent." 

Unless  all  signs  fail,  England's  next  great  political  battle 
will  be  over  this  question  of  land  reform.  There  is  already 
the  Small  Holdings  Act,  which  provides  that  the  county  coun- 
cil— something  like  our  board  of  county  commissioners  at 
home — may  purchase  land  in  lots  of  fifty  acres  or  less  and 
sell  to  tenants  on  these  terms :  one-fifth  cash  and  the  rest  of 
the  payment  to  be  made  in  half-yearly  installments  run- 
ing  through  a  period  not  over  fifty  years.  At  the  same  time 
the  county  councils  have  been  authorized  to  purchase  land 
and  rent  to  tenants  at  reasonable  terms,  and  an  officer  of 
the  board  of  agriculture  told  me  that  97  or  98  per  cent  of 
the  applicants  for  land  prefer  to  rent  from  the  State  author- 
ities rather  than  to  buy.  The  farmer  who  rents  from  the 
State  is  almost  as  much  his  own  master  as  if  he  were  land- 
lord ;  he  knows  that  if  he  treats  the  land  well  he  can  rent  it 
as  long  as  he  likes ;  that  when  he  leaves,  if  he  should  do  so 
at  all,  he  will  get  credit  for  any  permanent  improvements 
he  has  made ;  while,  most  important  of  all,  he  keeps  and  uses 
as  working  capital  the  money  he  would  otherwise  have  had 
to  pay  for  land,  being  thereby  enabled  to  get  better  work 
stock,  tools,  machinery,  etc.,  and  increase  his  efficiency  all 
round. 

In  view  of  these  facts  it  now  seems  likely  that  the  Liberal 
party  at  the  next  election  will  advocate  a  great  extension  of 
the  plan  of  government  purchase  and  renting  of  land.  The 
county  councils  already  have  authority  to  acquire  lands 
compulsorily;  that  is  to  say,  they  may  practically  condemn 
a  big  estate,  paying  the  owner  its  cash  value,  and  cut  it  up 
into  small  holdings.  It  happens,  however,  that  in  most 
cases  the  members  of  these  county  councils  have  been  under 
the  influence  of  the  landlords,  for  which  reason  but  little 


174         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

has  been  done  toward  compulsory  purchases.  In  order  to 
make  the  plan  really  efifective,  therefore,  the  Liberals  now 
propose  to  transfer  this  power  to  some  central  government 
authority,  removed  from  local  influences.  They  will  then 
doubtless  proceed  actively  with  the  work  of  breaking  up  the 
big  I, GOO  to  20,ooo-acre  estates  whose  existence  prevents 
the  development  of  a  sturdy  agricultural  population  because 
it  prevents  the  development  of  an  agricultural  democracy. 

Land  courts  will  doubtless  be  established  for  the  settle- 
ment of  difficulties  between  landowners  and  tenants — these 
land  courts,  as  in  Ireland,  to  determine  what  is  a  fair  rent; 
to  settle  whether  or  not  the  landlord  has  allowed  the  tenant 
enough  for  any  permanent  improvements  he  has  made,  and 
fix  the  tenant's  compensation  for  any  unwarranted  disturb- 
ance in  case  he  is  dispossessed  on  short  notice,  etc. 

The  revised  system  of  land  taxation,  with  a  view  to 
putting  heavier  burdens  on  the  holders  of  big  estates,  will 
also  doubtless  be  a  part  of  the  Liberal  program.  Mr. 
Robert  Donald,  editor  of  the  Daily  Chronicle,  told  me  while 
I  was  in  London  of  the  Australian  plan.  There  the  tax  rate 
is  doubled  on  estates  exceeding  $75,000  in  value,  trebled 
on  estates  exceeding  $150,000,  quadrupled  on  estates  exceed- 
ing $225,000  in  value,  increased  fivefold  on  estates  worth 
$300,000.  These  increases  apply  where  the  land  is  held  by 
residents.  In  the  case  of  absentee  owners,  the  tax  is  heavier 
still.  In  nine  months  after  this  Australian  law  became  ef- 
fective $90,000,000  worth  of  big  tracts  were  subdivided. 

Two  other  things  the  English  realize :  That  there  must 
be  co-operative  agricultural  banks,  probably  State  aided, 
for  those  new  owners  of  the  land,  and  that  co-operative 
enterprises  must  be  encouraged.  "Ireland  has  taught  us 
all  a  lesson,"  as  Mr.  Donald  said  to  me. 

In  America,  of  course,  there  is  not  yet  need  for  using  the 
extreme  methods  England  proposes  to  adopt,  but  we  shall 
do  well  to  learn  in  time  what  England's  experience  teaches. 
Pity  the  state  whose  farm  values  are  advancing,  but  whose 
farm  people  are  not  advancing!     Pity  the   state,   indeed, 


AGRICULTURAL    CO-OPERATION    IN    ENGLAND  175 

"where  wealth  accumulates  and  men  decay,"  because  farm- 
ing has  become  a  place  for  breeding  profits  and  not  a  place 
for  developing  manhood !  The  rural  population  is  the 
strength  of  a  commonwealth  only  because  they  are  less 
commercialized,  because  they  lay  relatively  more  emphasis 
on  manhood  and  life  and  less  on  money  and  things,  are  more 
independent,  more  home-loving,  than  the  city  population. 
When  big  plantations  and  a  numerous  tenantry  become  the 
rule,  commercialism  sets  in,  as  in  the  city,  independence  and 
individuality  are  destroyed  as  in  the  city,  and  the  decay 
of  the  home  follows  the  decay  of  home  ownership,  as  in 
the  city. 

Eventually,  no  doubt,  our  more  progressive  states  will 
frame  some  plan  for  lending  money  to  men  of  intelligence 
and  character  who  wish  to  acquire  small  farms ;  the  state 
to  be  repaid  in  small  annual  installments — say  8  per  cent 
a  )^ear — running  through  long  periods  of  time,  as  was  done 
in  Ireland.  Meanwhile  very  big  holdings  should  be  dis- 
couraged. I  believe  the  Legislature  of  Mississippi  some 
time  ago  passed  a  law  providing  that  industrial  corporations 
should  not  own  agricultural  lands  in  that  state.  Other 
states  would  also  do  well  to  be  watchful  on  this  point. 

And  the  Australian  plan  for  increasing  the  tax  rate  on 
absentee  landlords  also  has  many  features  of  merit. 

Without  abating  what  I  have  just  been  saying  about  the 
backward  state  of  agricultural  co-operation  in  England, 
however  (and  I  mean  backward  as  compared  with  Ireland 
or  Denmark  rather  than  still-more-backward  America),  it 
ought  to  be  added  that  among  England's  urban  population 
co-operation  has  flourished  like  the  Psalmist's  green  bay 
tree.  If  our  own  embattled  farmers  on  Lexington  battle- 
field may  be  said  to  have  "fired  the  shot  heard  round  the 
world,"  about  the  same  thing  may  be  said  for  the  little  hand- 
ful of  poor  weaver-folk  in  Rochdale  two  generations  ago 
(1844),  who  put  together  their  hard-earned  savings  aggre- 
gating $140,  and  organized  the  first  of  the  now  world- 
famous  Rochdale  co-operative  stores. 


176         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

Today  the  co-operative  membership  in  Groat  Britain 
comprises  2,700,000  souls,  and  in  England  alone  the  busi- 
ness done  reaches  the  staggering  total  of  $600,000,000  a 
year,  while  Scotland  reports  results  little  less  astonishing. 

The  distinguishing  principle  in  the  government  of  these 
stores,  of  course,  is  that  only  the  legal  interest  rate  is  al- 
lowed to  capital — "its  hire,"  as  the  Rochdale  co-operators 
put  it — and  all  other  profits  (about  $50,000,000  a  year  in 
England),  go  back  to  the  customers  as  "patronage  divi- 
dends" in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  their  purchases. 
The  almost  revolutionary  views  of  these  pioneers  as  to  the 
portion  of  business  profits  that  should  go  to  capital  has 
been  set  forth  by  Mr.  Holyoake  in  his  history  of  the  Roch- 
dale movement,  as  follows : 

"The  ceaseless  conflicts  between  capital  and  labor  arise  from 
capital  not  being  content  with  the  payment  of  its  hire.  When  it  has 
received  its  interest  according  to  its  risk,  and  according  to  agreement, 
there  should  be  an  end  of  its  claims.  Labor  then  would  regard  capital 
as  an  agent  which  it  must  pay,  but  when  it  has  earned  the  wages  of 
capital  and  paid  them,  labor  ought  to  be  done  with  capital.  Capital  can 
do  nothing,  can  earn  nothing  of  itself;  but  employed  by  labor,  the 
brains  and  the  industry  of  workmen  can  make  it  productive.  Capital 
has  no  brains  and  makes  no  exertions.  When  capital  has  its  interest 
it.,  claims  end.  It  is  capital  taking  the  profits  earned  by  labor  that  pro- 
duces the  conflict.  In  co-operation  labor  does  not  consider  profit  made 
until  capital  is  requited  for  its  aid." 

Not  only  are  2,700,000  Britishers  now  buying  their  gro- 
ceries, drygoods,  etc.,  etc.,  through  these  co-operative  stores, 
but  these  co-operative  stores  themselves  decided  long  ago 
that  they  ought  to  carry  co-operation  a  little  further.  So  in 
1863  they  organized  their  own  "Co-operative  Wholesale 
Society,"  or  "C.  W.  S.,"  as  it  is  called,  with  $10,000  capital. 
Its  first  year's  business  was  $20,000 ;  now  the  total  net  sales 
(to  local  co-operative  societies  exclusively)  exceed  $150.- 
000,000  a  year.  Profits,  of  course,  are  paid  back  on  the 
basis  of  patronage.     As  a  recent  magazine  writer  says : 

"Today  the  English  Co-operative  Wholesale  Society's  gigantic  fac- 
tories, including  the  biggest  boot  and  shoe  factory  in  Great  Britain, 


AGRICULTURAL    CO-OPERATION    IN    ENGLAND  177 

with  a  capital  of  $37,000,000  and  21,000  employes  on  their  payroll,  fully 
indicate  the  progress  made  in  England  alone.  The  big  industrial  cen- 
ter at  Shieldhall,  owned  and  controlled  by  the  Scottish  Co-operative 
Wholesale,  employing  another  8,000  workers,  proves  that  Scotland  was 
not  far  behind  England  in  adopting  the  new  system. 

"In  1911,  seventeen  wholesale  societies  reporting  did  a  business  of 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  billion  dollars.  This  was  an  increase  over  the 
previous  year  of  $18,500,000.  No  society  showed  a  decrease,  but  some 
almost  doubled." 

I  wish  I  could  give  an  entire  chapter  to  the  story  of  this 
Rochdale  co-operative  movement,  which,  indeed,  reads  like 
a  romance,  but  one  more  significant  and  illuminating  fact 
must  suffice :  "The  man  under  whom  the  Co-operative 
Wholesale  Society  gained  its  solid  foundations  and  much 
of  its  growth  was  J.  T.  W.  Mitchell,  who  was  chairman 
from  1874  to  his  death  in  1895.  He  managed  this  enormous 
business  with  utter  devotion  for  twenty-one  years,  and  when 
he  died  his  own  estate  was  officially  appraised  at  $1,750. 
This  is  typical  of  the  spirit  that  has  made  the  co-operative 
movement  so  astonishingly  successful.  Co-operation  has 
had  the  use  of  some  of  the  best  business  brains  at  absurdly 
small  remuneration  because  it  is  a  moral  as  well  as  an 
economic  movement.  It  arouses  the  enthusiasm  of  big  men 
because  its  purpose  is  to  make  the  brotherhood  of  man  a 
practical  reality." 


CHAPTER  XXII 

WHAT  CO-OPERATION  HAS  DONE  FOR  FRENCH 

FARMERS 

It  Has  Reduced  Cost  of  Fertilisers,  Has  Enabled  Poorer 
Farmers  to  Combine  and  Use  Better  Machinery,  Has  Pro- 
vided Almost  Universal  Insurance  at  Minimum  Cost,  and  Is 
Revolutionizing  Marketing  Methods 

THERE  is  hardly  a  prettier  farming  country  in  the 
world  than  France.  It  is  a  positive  joy  to  travel 
through  its  thickly  settled  farm  communities  in 
midsummer  w^hen  the  rich  gold  of  the  grain  har- 
vest mingles  with  the  dark  green  of  the  growing  crops  and 
the  neat  cottages  are  girt  about  with  tall  and  graceful  Lom- 
bardy  poplars.  A  much  larger  proportion  of  the  farmers 
than  in  England — 47^  per  cent,  according  to  the  latest 
figures  I  have — own  their  own  farms,  and  about  them  all 
there  is  a  general  air  of  comfort,  neatness  and  even  pros- 
perity. 

But  this  has  not  always  been  the  case.  In  fact,  a  little 
over  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  the  French  farmers  found 
themselves  face  to  face  with  conditions  of  the  gloomiest 
sort.  They  had  been  farming  the  way  their  fathers  had 
farmed  and  their  grandfathers  before  them,  every  man  for 
himself;  and,  like  farmers  in  many  other  countries,  they 
might  never  have  done  any  better  if  disaster  had  not  forced 
them,  like  young  eagles  thrown  from  their  nests,  into  wor- 
thier activities.  It  is  the  old  story  repeated  in  the  history 
of  every  nation  and  every  individual,  of  good  coming  out 
of  evil.  When  I  was  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  in  1910,  I 
learned  that  the  sugar  farmers,  depending  upon  the  abnormal 
profits  the  American  tariff  afforded  them,  had  never  put 

178 


WHAT  CO-OPERATION  HAS  DONE  FOR  FRENCH  FARMERS    179 

their  business  on  a  really  economical  and  scientific  basis 
until  a  change  in  the  tariff,  in  the  Cleveland  era,  threw  them 
on  their  own  resources  and  made  men  of  them — business 
men.  Our  own  Southern  country  might  have  gone  on 
indefinitely  neglecting  its  possibilities  for  stock  raising  and 
diversified  farming  if  the  boll  weevil  had  not  come  to  make 
the  one-crop  system  too  rotten  a  stick  to  support  us  longer. 
Again,  the  Irish  farmers,  to  whom  co-operation  has  brought 
such  prosperity,  might  never  have  won  their  goodlier  for- 
tune if  they  had  not  first  become  alarmed  by  seeing  their 
markets  slipping  away  from  them  to  the  thoroughly  or- 
ganized Danish  farmers. 

So,  too,  it  was  only  the  prospect  of  a  ruinous  foreign  com- 
petition that  brought  the  French  farmers  to  their  senses  and 
forced  them  into  the  co-operative  movements  through  which 
they  have  at  last  wrought  out  their  own  financial  salvation. 
Says  Mr.  E.  A,  Stopford : 

"About  the  year  1884,  after  a  long  period  of  prosperity,  the  farmers 
of  France  found  themselves  in  difficulties  from  which  they  could  see  no 
escape.  The  development  of  the  means  of  transport  removed  all  bar- 
riers, and  foreign  produce  touched  prices  which  rendered  home  com- 
petition impossible.  Wheat  from  North  America,  India  and  Russia; 
wool  from  Australia  and  the  River  Platte;  wines  from  Spain  and  Italy; 
even  cattle  from  Italy,  Germany  and  the  Argentine,  took  possession  of 
the  markets,  and  universal  ruin  of  home  producers  seemed  inevitable." 

It  was  out  of  this  travail  that  agricultural  co-operation  in 
France  w^as  born.  Now  the  organizations  embrace  about 
1,000,000  members,  and  they  have  won  the  favor  and  good 
will  of  all  classes  of  French  manhood.  In  France,  as  in  Ire- 
land, co-operation  has  made  business  men  of  farmers  in  the 
two  essential  matters  of  (i)  economical  production,  and  (2) 
economical  marketing.  Organization  has  also  brought  the 
farmers  into  new  political  prestige,  so  that  in  the  French 
Chamber  of  Deputies  (which  corresponds  to  our  American 
Congress),  a  majority  of  the  members  representing  all  poli- 
tical parties  are  pledged  to  support  measures  for  the  protec- 
tion of  agriculture. 


180        HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

Nevertheless  it  is  in  the  field  of  practical  agricultural 
activities  rather  than  in  the  sphere  of  legislation  that  the 
agricultural  co-operation  movement  in  France  has  won  its 
notable  triumphs,  it  being  claimed  that  it  has,  among  other 
things — 

(i)  Doubled  the  agricultural  production  of  the  country; 

(2)  Has  greatly  reduced  the  cost  of  marketing ; 

(3)  Has  worked  out  a  fine  system  of  agricultural  credit, 
reducing  the  cost  of  money  to  farmers  by  probably  50  per  cent ; 

(4)  Has  reduced  the  cost  of  phosphates  40  or  50  per  cent ; 

(5)  Has  reduced  the  cost  of  insurance  30  to  40  per  cent; 

(6)  And  in  the  beet  sugar  industry  it  has  developed  a 
system  of  business  management  so  efficient  as  even  to  pre- 
vent that  glutting  of  the  market  which  southern  cotton 
growers  have  found  so  disastrous. 

The  very  first  thing  that  engaged  the  attention  of  French 
farmers  was  one  in  which  our  southern  farmers  are  vitally 
interested — commercial  fertilizers  or  "chemical  manures," 
as  they  are  called  in  Europe.  Before  the  organization  of 
syndicates  or  farmers'  unions,  fertilizers  were  sold  by  local 
merchants,  the  farmer  who  bought  knowing  nothing,  and 
the  merchant  neither  knowing  nor  caring  anything,  about 
the  ingredients  of  the  fertilizer  or  its  adaptability  to  the 
crop  or  soil  it  was  to  be  used  on.  The  farmers'  unions 
changed  all  this.  Twice  a  year  they  collected  the  orders 
from  all  their  members,  as  far  as  they  could  get  them,  and 
then  made  terms  with  the  fertilizer  manufacturers  or  dis- 
tributors, effecting  enormous  savings  as  compared  with 
prices  farmers  had  paid  aforetime.  The  manufacturers 
would  render  their  bills  to  the  individual  farmers  and  these 
bills  would  be  examined  and  approved  by  the  local  union. 
Then  it  was  presented  for  payment  by  the  fertilizer  manu- 
facturer or  his  agent.     Says  Mr.  Stopford: 

"These  bills  were  never  unpaid ;  a  defaulter  would  be  struck  ofif  the 
membership.  Thus  was  a  notable  lesson  learned;  the  farmers  were 
taught  commercial  exactness  and  the  religion  of  the  due  date,  and  were 
being  trained  for  the  organization  of  agricultural  credit." 


WHAT  CO-OPERATION  HAS  DONE  FOR  FRENCH  FARMERS    181 

That,  by  the  way,  is  a  very  fine  phrase  Mr.  Stopford  uses 
here :  "The  religion  of  the  due  date."  It  is  this  religion 
that  must  be  at  the  bottom  of  all  successful  co-operation  as 
it  is  at  the  bottom  of  all  sound  business  everywhere :  the 
religion  of  promptness  and  exactness.  The  farmer,  since 
he  has  to  contend  with  so  many  things  in  nature  that  are 
not  prompt  and  regular — the  rains,  the  sunshine,  the  frost — 
does  not  so  easily  form  habits  of  promptness  as  the  city 
business  man ;  and  it  is  all  the  more  important,  therefore, 
for  him  to  school  himself  deliberately  in  the  virtue  of 
promptness,  "the  religion  of  the  due  date."  Because  they 
did  have  this  quality  of  promptness  and  carried  out  their 
contracts  with  businesslike  exactitude,  the  French  farmers 
were  able  very  early  in  their  work  to  reduce  phosphate 
prices  40  to  50  per  cent,  and  they  have  effected  less  notable 
reductions  in  the  price  of  other  fertilizer  ingredients.  A 
very  large  proportion  of  the  syndicates  buy  the  ingredients 
and  mix  the  fertilizers  for  their  members,  in  many  cases 
giving  the  farmer  specific  advice  as  to  what  sort  of  mixture 
he  should  obtain  to  fit  the  special  character  of  his  soil  and 
the  especial  requirements  of  the  crop  he  proposes  to  plant. 

The  farmers'  unions  in  France  have  also  done  a  most  help- 
ful work  in  getting  their  members  to  use  labor-saving,  and 
therefore  money-saving,  farm  machinery.  It  is  said  that 
the  farmers  were  very  slow  to  use  the  improved  tools,  but 
the  unions  adopted  all  sorts  of  schemes  to  toll  or  entice 
them  into  better  ways.  Sometimes  unions  would  help  a 
member  pay  the  cost  of  a  new  machine  in  order  to  get  it 
introduced  in  the  neighborhood.  Sometimes  prizes  were 
given  to  the  persons  showing  the  greatest  skill  in  the  use  of 
machines : 

"Such  machines  as  were  expensive  and  only  occasionally  required 
were  bought  by  the  syndicate  for  general  use,  and  one  made  to  work 
for  many  members.  For  instance,  plows,  mowers,  reapers,  harrows, 
weighing  machines,  straw  and  root  cutters,  winnowers,  and  even  flour 
mills.  These  were  let  out  at  a  small  charge.  Those  who  used  them 
were  responsible  for  their  safety  or  repair  in  case  of  accident.     Some 


182         HOW   FAEMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

were  stationary  at  the  depots  or  with  selected  farmers;  some  went 
from  place  to  place.  These  plans,  involving  to  the  farmer  no  initiative, 
no  forethought,  and  little  expense,  were  widely  successful  and  ren- 
dered invaluable  service.  The  very  best  machines  were  bought,  some 
even  costing  $2,000  each.  The  money  was  raised  by  a  general  pro  rata 
subscription  among  their  members,  according  to  their  acreage. 

"As  the  utility  of  the  implements  was  made  known,  skill  in  work- 
ing them  increased,  and  the  permanent  and  general  use  of  them 
spread  everywhere.  Some  syndicates  even  lent  the  machine  without 
charge,  but  this  is  only  advisable  for  the  temporary  purpose  of  making 
them  known.  Such  gratuitous  services  have  more  the  nature  of 
benevolence  than  of  co-operation;  they  do  not  inculcate  self-help. 
Those  who  paid  nothing  detained  the  machines  too  long  and  delayed 
the  rotation,  causing  inconvenience  to  the  members.  A  moderate 
charge  insures  rapid  use  and  punctual  passing  on." 

In  the  same  way  the  farmers  joined  together  in  buying 
their  commercial  fertilizers  and  their  feedstuffs.  Just  as 
they  made  it  a  point  to  educate  their  members  about  the 
ingredients  of  commercial  fertilizers  and  the  kinds  that  paid 
best  on  certain  crops  and  certain  soils,  so  they  set  about 
educating  them  as  to  the  ingredients  of  different  feeds  and 
feedstuffs  and  the  kind  needed  for  each  class  of  animals 
and  each  class  of  farm  work.  Blooded  horses  and  cattle 
were  bought  and  sold  to  the  members,  and  other  steps  taken 
to  improve  the  breeds  of  stock. 

Another  thing  that  has  been  attempted  in  France  with 
great  success,  and  which  it  would  be  well  for  our  own 
farmers'  unions  and  other  agricultural  organizations  to  push 
more  vigorously,  is  mutual  insurance.  The  French  farm- 
ers have  not  only  worked  out  more  advantageous  schemes 
for  fire  insurance  and  live  stock  insurance,  but  also  accident 
insurance,  old  age  insurance  and  insurance  against  hail,  etc., 
etc.  It  is  said  that  the  fire  insurance  fees  have  been  re- 
duced 30  or  40  per  cent  as  a  result  of  the  unions'  activities, 
while  equally  as  important  as  the  reduction  in  the  rates 
is  the  fact  that  thousands  of  farmers  have  secured  the 
benefits  of  fire  insurance  who  never  would  have  insured  at 
all  if  the  union  had  not  interested  itself  in  the  matter. 


WHAT  CO-OPERATION  HAS  DONE  FOR  FRENCH  FARMERS    183 

When  I  was  in  Ireland,  I  found  that  Sir  Horace  Plunkett 
and  his  associates  there  were  working  out  a  system  of  live 
stock  insurance  for  Irish  farmers,  and  undoubtedly  they 
get  their  greatest  inspiration  in  the  success  of  this  move- 
ment in  France.  In  some  cases  the  French  farmers  merely 
pool  their  interests,  limiting  the  amount  to  be  paid  on  any 
animal  to  70  per  cent  of  its  value,  and  limiting  the  maximum 
amount  of  any  assessment  levy  to  i  per  cent  of  the  amount 
of  insurance  carried.  For  example,  if  a  farmer  has  an  animal 
worth  $100,  he  cannot  insure  it  for  more  than  $70,  or  pay 
more  than  70  cents  on  any  one  levy ;  or  if  a  farmer  has  stock 
insured  for  $500,  he  cannot  be  assessed  in  any  one  levy  more 
than  $5. 

Of  course,  a  man's  own  neighbors  are  the  committee  who 
investigate  each  loss,  and  there  is,  therefore,  very  little 
chance  for  fraud. 

Human  accident  insurance  is  a  later  growth.  In  England 
now  it  is  a  law  that  a  farmer  is  responsible  for  any  accident 
a  workman  may  suffer  in  handling  farm  machinery,  and  I 
take  it  that  the  same  thing  is  true  in  France.  Of  course, 
if  a  poor  fellow  earning  75  cents  a  day  and  having  no  means 
of  supporting  his  family  becomes  crippled  for  life  by  some 
piece  of  machinery,  it  is  not  right  that  he  should  go  all  the 
rest  of  his  days  as  a  pauper.  On  the  other  hand,  it  is  hard 
for  the  farmer  to  pay  out  a  thousand  dollars  to  take  care 
of  some  hired  man  whose  serv^ices  seem  to  have  been  worth 
no  more  than  the  wages  he  received.  It  is  the  law,  almost  every- 
where now,  however,  that  a  manufacturer  is  responsible  for 
accidents  to  his  employees,  and  the  same  thing  must  become 
the  rule  with  regard  to  farmers — wherever  it  is  not  already 
the  law.  In  this  situation  the  only  thing  for  the  farmers 
everywhere  to  do  is  what  they  have  already  done  in  France 
— secure  collective  accident  insurance,  not  only  for  their 
workmen  but  for  themselves  as  well.  So  far  as  I  could 
gather,  it  seems  that  about  five  cents  an  acre  is  the  accident 
rate  charged  members  of  the  farmers'  union  in  France.  For 
example,  if  a  man  cultivates  thirty  acres,  his  premium  would 


184        HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

be  $1.50  a  year,  the  insurance  covering  not  only  his  hired 
men  but  himself,  and  all  members  of  his  family. 

These  agricultural  syndicates  also  have  done  much  to  en- 
courage agricultural  teaching  in  the  public  schools;  they 
have  systematically  demanded  that  all  members  settle  dif- 
ficulties by  means  of  arbitration  instead  of  resorting  to  law 
suits ;  they  have  secured  reductions  in  railway  rates  in  many 
cases,  and  in  many  other  cases  have  combined  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  special  bulk  rates  not  available  to  them  as 
individuals;  and  they  have  encouraged  picnics,  fetes  and 
social  gatherings  and  other  means  of  enriching  the  social 
and  home  life  of  the  country. 

After  all,  however,  it  is  probable  that  agricultural  co- 
operation in  France  is  famed  for  no  more  notable  achieve- 
ment than  the  revolution  it  has  effected  in  economical  mar- 
keting of  farm  products — although  its  rural  credits  reform 
is  very  notable.  French  farmers  not  only  have  the  low 
parcels  post  rate  which  is  such  an  advantage  to  English  and 
Irish  farmers,  but  they  have  forced  the  French  government 
to  raise  the  parcel  post  maximum  rate  to  twenty-four 
pounds  instead  of  twelve.  And  not  only  have  the  farmers 
been  taught  promptness  and  systematic  business  methods 
generally,  but  they  have  found  out  the  value  of  other 
methods  which  we  have  not  yet  been  progressive  enough  to 
adopt — as  for  example,  the  plan  of  having  all  the  farmers  in 
one  community  grow  one  breed  of  cattle  or  one  breed  of 
hogs  and  so  make  a  reputation  for  the  neighborhood  as  the 
place  to  find  the  best  Jerseys  or  the  best  Angus  or  the  best 
Berkshires  or  the  best  Durocs. 

Frequently,  one  local  Union  reports  its  needs  to  the  other 
unions  in  the  district,  and  in  this  way  exchanges  are  ef- 
fected at  a  great  saving  to  both  buyer  and  seller.  Especially 
notable,  moreover,  are  the  results  achieved  by  the  society  in 
reducing  rates  paid  commission  merchants;  and  one  in- 
stance reported  by  Mr.  Stopford  is  so  important  that  I  am 
quoting  the  reference  to  it  herewith: 


WHAT  CO-OPERATION  HAS  DONE  FOR  FRENCH  FARMERS    185 

"On  the  markets  of  Paris  and  the  large  cities  considerable  success 
has  attended  sales  of  vegetables,  fruits,  potatoes,  onions,  cut  flowers, 
etc.,  produce  generally  being  collected  in  bulk  and  sold  in  the  lots  of 
each  member;  or  it  was  collected,  divided  into  classes  according  to 
quality  by  a  committee  of  sale  appointed  in  the  general  assembly.  Each 
day  a  different  member  did  this  work,  so  ordered  that  it  was  impos- 
sible to  tell  beforehand  who  was  to  attend  on  any  day ;  this  official  was 
paid  for  his  work,  he  had  the  responsibility,  and  if  claims  were  made 
the  syndicate  covered  the  vendor — an  arrangement  which  made  this 
method  very  satisfactory.  Costs  are  deducted  and  the  surplus  divided 
once  a  week  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  and  quality  each  member 
sent,  and  the  market  prices  are  duly  published.  Prices  to  the  producers 
were  found  to  be  raised  30  per  cent  by  this  means." 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

CO-OPERATION  GIVES  DANISH  FARMERS  THREE 
PROFITS  INSTEAD  OF  ONE 

This  Is  Why  Hans  Hansen  Makes  a  Good  Living  on  Thirteen 
Acres,  and  Why  Denmark  Is  Indeed  "A  Little  Land  Full  of 
Happy  People" — Importance  of  Home  Ownership — How 
the  Danish  Government  Helps  Farmers  Buy  Land — One- 
Horse  Farmers  Combine  and  Do  Two-Horse  Plowing 

THE  first  test  of  co-operation  is  its  effect  upon  the 
people  who  co-operate,  and  judged  by  this  test 
Danish  co-operation  scores  brilliantly.     Denmark 
is  about  the  most  cheerful-looking  country  I  have 
ever  seen.    "A  little  land  full  of  happy  people,"  I  heard  one 
Dane  proudly  call  it ;  and  he  was  right. 

Knowing  that  it  is  a  country  of  such  exceedingly  small 
farms,  I  should  not  have  been  surprised  to  find  that  the 
people  were  hard  put  to  it  to  live,  but  on  the  contrary,  an 
air  of  universal  thrift  and  prosperity  seems  to  cover  the 
whole  kingdom  like  the  sunshine.  The  neat  little  farm 
houses  are  nearly  all  painted  or  whitewashed,  even  the  out- 
buildings; the  people  are  clean,  industrious,  healthy,  alert; 
I  saw  hardly  anybody  ragged  and  but  few  expensively 
dressed;  and  I  didn't  find  in  all  the  kingdom  a  single  farm 
animal  showing  its  ribs.  Although  there  are  numerous 
exceptions,  I  shall  always  think  of  Denmark  as  a  place 
where  the  people  hold  their  heads  up,  the  cattle  are  sleek 
and  glossy,  the  horses,  even  in  the  fields,  step  briskly  as  if 
swift  movement  were  a  joy,  and  where  every  pig  curls  its 
tail  in  well-fed  satisfaction.  The  per  capita  wealth  is 
greater  than  in  any  other  European  country  except  Eng- 
land, I  understand,  with  this  important  difference:  that 
whereas  in  England  there  is  a  class  of  enormously  rich, 

186 


CO-OPERATION  :    THREE  PROFITS  INSTEAD  OF  ONE        187 

and  a  multitude  of  miserably  poor,  Denmark  is  almost 
equally  free  from  millionaires  and  paupers.  "Many  of  our 
poorhouses  are  absolutely  empty,"  one  Dane  said  to  me. 
In  short,  Denmark  seems  to  approach  more  nearly  than 
any  other  country  I  have  ever  seen  to  my  ideal  of  a  nation — 
a  place  where  nobody  is  rich  enough  to  be  idle,  and  nobody 
poor  enough  to  beg.  This,  perhaps,  is  too  rosy  a  picture, 
but  I  am  only  recording  the  impression  this  delightful  coun- 
try made  upon  me  individually. 

All  in  all,  Denmark  offers  us  a  convincing  illustration 
of  the  truth  of  w^hat  Froude,  the  historian,  wrote — that 
"national  health  is  in  exact  ratio  to  the  proportion  of  people 
having  direct  interest  in  the  soil."  In  other  words,  the 
prosperity  of  the  State  depends  upon  the  prosperity  of  its 
agriculture.  And  while  history  teaches  nothing  more 
plainly  than  this,  it  also  teaches  just  as  emphatically  this 
further  truth,  namely,  that  the  prosperity  of  agriculture  de- 
pends upon  three  things: 

(i)   Land  ownership. 

(2)  Education. 

(3)  Co-operation. 

Those  who  would  win  for  American  agriculture  the 
strength,  independence  and  prosperity  which  has  been  won 
for  Danish  agriculture,  should  give  heed  to  this  trinity  of 
essentials.  Co-operation  is  the  capstone  of  the  structure; 
but  the  capstone  is  safe  only  when  the  foundation  itself  is 
secure.  The  builders  of  the  new  Denmark  were  not  un- 
mindful of  the  Scriptural  warning  against  building  a  house 
upon  the  sand ;  and  it  is  because  they  first  helped  the  farm- 
ers get  possession  of  the  land,  it  is  because  co-operation  with 
them  is  founded  upon  the  solid  rock  of  ownership  and  edu- 
cation, that  it  still  stands  four  square  to  all  the  winds  that 
blow. 

In  Denmark  nine  acres  out  of  every  ten  are  cultivated  by 
the  men  who  own  them,  and  illiteracy  is  a  thing  unknown. 
Says  Minister  Egan :  "There  is  nobody  in  Denmark  over 
seven  years  old,  unless  he  is  an  idiot,  who  cannot  read  and 


188        HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

write";  and  when  I  asked  Mr.  K.  A.  Jorgensen  of  the 
Lyngby  Experiment  Station  if  he  knew  anybody  who 
could  not  read,  his  reply  was  that  he  could  not  think  of 
anyone  then,  but  that  when  he  was  a  boy  he  had 
known  some  illiterate  old  men  and  women.  About  the 
first  thing  I  ever  heard  about  Danish  co-operation  was  that 
it  could  never  have  succeeded  but  for  universal  compulsory 
education  and  the  people's  high  schools;  and  this  is  an 
opinion  about  which  I  found  everybody  in  agreement  in 
Denmark.  It  is  fitting,  indeed,  that  our  now  largest  Amer- 
ican farmers'  organization  is  styled  "The  Farmers'  Educa- 
tional and  Co-operative  Union" — "educational"  first  and 
"co-operative"  second — for  education  must  precede  co-op- 
eration. The  other  statement  about  which  nearly  every- 
body in  Denmark  is  agreed  is  that  co-operation  has  suc- 
ceeded so  abundantly  only  because  the  great  body  of  the 
farmers  own  the  land  they  till. 

One  of  the  first  Danish  small  farmers  I  visited  was  Hans 
Hansen  of  Ditlevshoj  near  Ringsted.  Hans  lived  in  America 
awhile — out  in  Minnesota,  I  believe,  where  the  thrifty 
Danish  population  has  given  the  Northwest  some  of  its  best 
citizenship — and  he  talks  English  fluently.  After  showing 
me  over  part  of  his  farm,  we  went  inside  his  neat  cottage 
home — made  more  homelike  to  me  by  the  sight  of  an 
American  newspaper  on  his  center  table — and  he  smoked 
his  funny-looking,  short  Dutch  pipe  while  we  talked. 
While  out  in  our  American  Northwest,  he  told  me,  he  had 
a  "quarter  section,"  that  is  to  say,  a  i6o-acre  farm,  but  he 
came  back  to  Denmark  about  five  years  ago  and  took  up 
the  thirteen-acre  Danish  "small  holding"  he  is  now  on. 

"And  do  you  think  thirteen  acres  enough?"  I  asked. 

"Yah,"  he  promptly  replied.  "I  get  along  about  as  well  with 
thirteen  acres  now  as  I  did  with  a  hundred  and  sixty  then.  The 
truth  is,  I'm  thinking  I  could  get  along  with  a  little  less 
than  thirteen.     I  wouldn't  have  to  work  so  hard." 

Now,  the  reason  Hans  and  his  neighbors  can  make  a  liv- 
ing on  twelve  or  thirteen  acres  apiece,  my  readers  have 


CO-OPERATION  :    THREE  PROFITS  INSTEAD  OF  ONE        189 

already  guessed.  It  is  co-operation.  They  send  their  milk 
to  a  co-operative  creamery;  they  sell  their  pigs  to  a  co- 
operative bacon  factory;  their  eggs  are  collected  by  the 
co-operative  egg-packing  association;  they  have  water  in 
their  houses,  pumped  by  a  co-operative  plant;  they  have 
improved  their  stock  through  a  co-operative  breeding  club ; 
their  grain  is  threshed  by  a  co-operative  thresher ;  their  beet 
seed  are  planted  with  a  co-operative  sower;  and  though  I 
forgot  to  inquire  further,  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  they,  like 
a  host  of  other  Danish  farmers,  buy  their  seeds  and  fer- 
tilizers through  a  co-operative  purchase  society,  and  insure 
their  stock  in  a  co-operative  insurance  company.  Indeed, 
the  very  fact  that  they  are  on  the  land  at  all  is  due  to  co- 
operation. They  joined  together  to  buy  the  soil  they  live 
on — it  was  a  large  estate  until  a  few  years  ago,  when  it  was 
divided  up  into  these  small  holdings — and  the  government 
plan  whereby  money  was  lent  them  at  low  rates  for  long 
periods  with  which  to  buy  the  land,  may  itself  be  styled  a 
form  of  co-operation. 

As  nearly  as  I  can  make  out  the  somewhat  complicated 
question  (and  I  have  made  careful  efforts  to  verify  the 
statement),  the  way  these  Ditlevshoj  small  holders  bought 
their  farms  was  as  follows : 

(i)  Each  man  had  on  his  own  account  one-fifth  of  the 
purchase  price. 

(2)  Three-fifths  of  the  price  he  borrowed  from  a  co- 
operative credit  society  on  these  terms :  He  pays  interest 
the  first  five  years  at  4  per  cent ;  after  that  he  pays  4^  per 
cent  a  year,  4  per  cent  of  this  amount  counting  as  interest 
and  the  remaining  three-fourths  of  i  per  cent  as  sinking 
fund,  or  amortization,  to  pay  off  the  principal. 

(3)  The  remaining  one-fifth  each  purchaser  borrowed 
from  the  State  (on  second  mortgage),  paying  interest  at 
the  rate  of  3  per  cent. 

This  system,  it  will  be  seen,  is  somewhat  akin  to  the  Irish 
land  purchase  act  of  1903,  which  I  have  already  described, 
whereby  the  British  government  advanced  to  Irish  farmers 


190        HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE  PROFITS 

(under  suitable  restrictions,  of  course)  the  full  purchase 
price  of  the  land  they  bought,  repayment  to  be  made  in 
68^  installments  of  3J4  per  cent,  2^  per  cent  being  interest 
and  Yz  per  cent  sinking  fund.  But  the  British  government, 
of  course,  lost  money  by  this  plan ;  it  could  not  itself  borrow 
at  2^  per  cent,  and  I  suspect  that  the  Danish  government 
is  also  making  some  sacrifices  in  advancing  money  to  land- 
buyers  at  3  per  cent.  At  any  rate,  Mr.  Christensen,  the 
obliging  editor  of  the  local  paper  who  went  out  with  us  to 
Ditlevshoj,  told  me  that  5  to  5^  per  cent  is  the  normal  rate 
of  interest  in  Denmark.  "The  Danish  treasury,"  he  told 
me,  "lends  200,000  kroner  (about  $54,000)  a  year  to  associa- 
tions wishing  to  buy  great  estates  for  division  among  small 
holders,  no  association  being  allowed  to  get  more  than 
50,000  kroner  ($13,500)." 

This  law,  of  course,  is  independent  of  and  supplementary 
to  the  general  law  for  advancing  money  to  individual  small 
holders,  under  which  the  State  lends  over  $1,000,000  or 
more,  annually,  directly  to  men  of  character  wrishing  to 
buy  land.  A  brief  summary  of  this  law  may  be  given  in 
the  exact  words  of  Dr.  Maurice  F.  Egan,  the  United  States 
Minister  to  Denmark: 

"An  agricultural  laborer  in  Denmark,  who  has  worked  on  a  farm 
for  five  years,  who  is  poor,  and  who  has  a  character  so  good  that  two 
reputable  members  of  his  community  will  certify  to  it,  may  obtain  from 
one  of  these  banks  a  loan  of  about  $1,582  in  our  money.  He  obtains 
this  solely  on  his  character  and  ability,  and  not  by  any  material  security 
he  can  offer.  With  this  money  he  may  purchase  a  farm  of  from  three 
and  a  half  to  twelve  acres.  This  farm  means  live  and  dead  stock  on 
the  land  and  the  necessary  implements  for  the  working  of  it.  The 
amount  loaned  by  the  bank  covers  probably  nine-tenths  of  the  value 
of  the  farm." 

It  should  be  added  that  the  rate  charged  by  the  govern- 
ment is  only  3  per  cent  with  i  per  cent  additional  for  sink- 
ing fund.  "During  the  first  five  years  no  installment  has 
to  be  paid  upon  the  loan ;  thereafter  interest  and  repayment 
of  two-fifths  of  the  loan  must  be  paid  at  the  rate  of  4  per 
cent  per  annum;  when  this  part  of  the  loan  has  been  paid 


CO-OPERATION  :    THREE  PROFITS  INSTEAD  OF  ONE        191 

back,  the  remainder  has  likewise  to  be  paid  off  at  the  rate 
of  4  per  cent  per  annum." 

So  much  for  the  way  co-operation  and  the  government 
help  Danish  small  farmers  like  Hans  Hansen  buy  their  land. 
Let  us  now  inquire  a  little  further  as  to  how  he  and  his 
neighbors  live,  and  how  he  can  make  a  living  on  thirteen 
acres,  "and  could  get  along  with  a  little  less."  The  secret 
of  his  prosperity  is  that  he  is  not  content  merely  to  make 
one  profit  on  his  work — that  of  growing  the  crops.  On  the 
contrary,  we  may  say  he  makes  three  profits : 

One  profit  from  growing  the  crop; 

A  second  profit  from  converting  his  crops  into  milk,  butter,  pork  and 
eggs; 

A  third  profit  from  marketing  these  to  the  consumer. 

In  other  words,  Hans  gets  agricultural,  manufacturing 
and  commercial  profits:  (i)  Profits  as  a  farmer  for  grow- 
ing his  crops;  (2)  profits  as  a  manufacturer  (in  a  sense) 
through  his  dairying  and  stock-raising  activities;  and  (3) 
profits  as  a  merchant,  by  reason  of  sharing  the  co-opera- 
tive association  dividends  obtained  in  marketing  his  prod- 
ucts. Xo  people  ever  got  rich  merely  by  selling  raw  material 
— a  fact  which  explains  why  the  South  remains  relatively  poor 
in  spite  of  its  enormous  production.  Danish  agriculture  pros- 
pers because  it  is  not  merely  a  matter  of  growing  raw  ma- 
terials.    It  is  a  well-organized  commercial  industry. 

Moreover,  Hans  Hansen's  land  is  doubtless  getting  richer 
all  the  time.  Nearly  all  Danish  land  is.  Sixty  years  ago 
the  soil  was  getting  speedily  poorer,  because  Denmark  was 
a  one-crop  country,  as  the  South  has  been,  only  the  Danish 
"one  crop"  was  not  cotton,  but  grain.  But  since  the  people 
turned  to  diversified  farming  and  stock  raising,  instead  of  a 
one-crop  system,  the  land  has  been  growing  in  fertility  all 
the  time.  On  his  thirteen-acre  farm,  Hans  keeps  two  horses, 
five  cows  and  a  good  many  hogs — I  have  forgotten  just  how 
many.  Anyhow,  he  sent  sixteen  pigs  to  the  bacon  factory 
last  year,  six-month-old  fellows  averaging  200  pounds  live 
weight. 


192         HOW    FARMERS    CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

But  after  remarking  that  Hans'  thirteen-acre  place  cost  him 
13,000  kroner,  or  $4,510  American,  including  land,  stock  and 
buildings  (part  of  the  price  being  lent  by  the  state  at  3  per 
cent),  we  must  leave  him  to  visit  some  of  his  neighbors. 
One  of  these  is  Marius  Yensen,  who  bought  eight  tondeland 
(about  eleven  acres)  five  years  ago,  at  about  $100  per  acre, 
the  land  being  then  without  buildings.  Now  his  horse,  his 
six  cows,  his  pigs,  and  his  w^ife's  Minorcas  are  housed  under 
the  same  roof  as  his  family,  a  condition  which  obtains  with 
millions  of  other  European  farmers.  Of  course,  in  all  such 
cases  a  thick  dividing  wall  must  be  provided  between  the 
living  apartments  and  the  barn,  and  the  stables  must  have 
daily  attention.  But  it  would  be  a  mistake  for  any  reader 
to  think  of  Marius  Yensen's  cottage  as  dirty  and  unkempt. 
It  is  pretty,  built  by  an  architect's  plan,  neatly  whitewashed, 
and  the  yard  is  dainty  with  flowers. 

Yensen  keeps  a  good  breed  of  hogs  and  cows,  of  course — 
nearly  all  Danish  farmers  do — and  I  saw  one  big  brood  sow 
which  has  had  87  pigs  in  eight  litters.  His  pigs,  like  Han- 
sen's weigh  about  200  pounds  live  weight  when  five  or  six 
months  old,  and  he  got  $540  from  the  co-operative  bacon 
factory  for  his  pig  sales  last  year.  From  the  co-operative 
creamery  he  received  $405  for  his  cream,  besides  getting 
his  skimmed  milk  back  for  feeding  his  pigs  and  calves. 
Then  his  wife's  Minorcas,  besides  furnishing  eggs  for  family 
use,  brought  in  the  tidy  sum  of  $54  from  the  co-operative 
egg-packing  association.  It  should  also  be  remembered 
that  our  Danish  farmer  friend  is  at  no  expense  or  trouble 
for  marketing  his  eggs  and  milk.  The  creamery  wagon 
comes  for  his  milk  pails  as  regularly  as  the  sun  rises,  and 
the  co-operative  egg  wagon  calls  every  Monday. 

The  representative  of  the  "control  society,"  or  cow-test- 
ing association — usually  a  young  man  who  has  studied 
dairying  in  some  agricultural  college — makes  a  visit  every 
eighteen  or  twenty  days,  ascertains  the  quantity  of  milk 
and  amount  of  butter  fat  each  cow  is  producing,  and  com- 
pares the  value  of  the  feeds  given  her  with  the  value  of  her 


CO-OPERATION  :    THREE  PROFITS  INSTEAD  OF  ONE        193 

milk.  "Ill  fares  that  cow  to  hastening  doom  a  prey"  which 
does  not  show  a  profit!  The  secrets  which  the  "robber 
cow"  once  successfully  concealed,  are  now  proclaimed  from 
the  housetops — or,  it  would  be  more  accurate  to  say,  from 
the  butcher's  block.  Largely  because  of  the  activities  of  the 
control  association  and  the  resultant  discovery  and  disposal 
of  the  "undesirable  citizens"  in  the  dairy  barns,  the  average 
Danish  milk  production  per  cow  increased  from  4,500 
pounds  in  1898  to  5,865  pounds  in  1908 — a  gain  of  over 
30  per  cent  in  a  single  decade.  Moreover,  Professor  Ras- 
mussen  of  the  New  Hampshire  Agricultural  College,  a  Dane 
by  birth,  assures  me  that  the  average  milk  production  per 
cow  in  Denmark  has  actually  doubled  in  twenty-three  years. 
Yensen's  own  cows  averaged  8,800  pounds  of  milk  last  year. 

About  this  time  it  seems  to  me  I  can  hear  some  of  my 
readers  saying,  "Well,  Friend  Poe  no  doubt  liked  that  Den- 
mark farmer's  fine  stock,  and  his  careful  rotation,  and  his 
progressiveness  in  patronizing  a  co-operative  creamery  and 
bacon  factory,  but  there  is  one  thing  he  must  have  objected 
to,  and  that  is,  that  with  such  small  farms  about  all  the 
plowing  must  be  of  the  one-horse  sort." 

But  to  all  such  readers  I  would  say,  Not  so  fast!  The 
presumption  is  a  natural  one,  but  as  a  matter  of  fact,  co- 
operation which  helps  Yensen  in  so  many  other  ways,  helps 
him  here  also.  He  does  no  one-horse  plowing.  The  truth 
is,  one-horse  plowing  is  an  unusual  sight  anywhere  in  the 
Danish  kingdom.  One  of  the  secrets  of  its  prosperity  is 
that  it  has  more  horses  per  square  mile  than  any  other  coun- 
try on  earth — an  average  of  thirty-two — and  while  here  and 
there  a  small  holder  like  Yensen,  with  only  ten  or  twelve 
acres,  and  that  not  quite  paid  for,  may  have  only  one  horse, 
even  then  he  usually  thinks  too  much  of  his  time  and  of  his 
land's  time,  to  waste  either  with  one-horse  plowing.  When 
Marius  Yensen  wants  to  plow,  he  borrows  another  horse 
from  a  neighbor,  and  in  return  Yensen  lends  his  horse  to 
the  neighbor  when  the  neighbor  needs  it. 

That  is  true  co-operation  for  you! 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

COWS  AND  CO-OPERATION  HAVE  MADE 
DENMARK  RICH 

Co-operation,  Scientific  Knowledge,  Strict  Business  Policies, 
and  High-Quality  Products  Are  the  Four  Secrets  of  Success 
— How  the  Co-operative  Societies  Were  Started  Without 
Capital — Plans  of  Payment — Necessity  for  Binding  Legal- 
Form  Agreements  Among  Co-operators — Inspection  to  In- 
sure Quality  of  Product 

THE  SCRIPTURES  speak  of  Palestine  as  "a  land 
flowing  with  milk  and  honey."  In  view  of  the 
great  number  of  cattle  and  hogs  in  Denmark,  it 
might  be  called  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and 
gravy.  "Like  ancient  Gaul,"  says  Minister  Egan,  "all, Den- 
mark is  divided  into  three  parts — butter,  bacon  and  eggs." 
And  he  might  have  added  that  of  these  three  the  greatest 
is  butter. 

I  have  already  remarked  that  there  are  more  horses  to 
the  square  mile  in  Denmark  than  in  any  other  country  the 
sun  shines  on,  and  I  believe  the  same  thing  is  true  with  regard 
to  cows.  At  any  rate,  there  are  442  milk  cows  for  each 
thousand  of  the  population,  as  compared  with  224  dairy 
cows  for  each  thousand  Americans. 

The  first  Danish  co-operative  creamery  was  established 
thirty  years  ago.  Undoubtedly  it  would  be  rash  to  assume 
that  one  cow  in  a  hundred  was  then  enrolled  in  the  co-op- 
erative ranks,  but  now  more  than  eighty  cows  in  every 
hundred  arc  fashionable,  up-to-date,  co-operative  cows  and 
less  than  twenty  are  left  untouched  by  the  modern  spirit. 
Of  the  1,507  creameries  in  Denmark  on  the  latest  date  for 
which  I  have  the  figures,  only  242  were  private  and  85 

194 


cows  AND  CO-OPERATION  HAVE  MADE  DENMARK  RICH    195 

estate,  while  1,177  were  operated  on  the  co-operative  basis. 

These  Danish  co-operative  creameries  on  w^hich  Eng- 
land's hungry  millions  have  learned  to  rely  for  their  butter 
supply  were  formed,  almost  without  exception,  without  the 
members  paying  out  one  cent  as  capital  to  start  on.  "At 
first  we  had  the  banks  all  against  us,"  Mr.  J.  H.  Monrad, 
the  well-known  dairy  expert,  told  me,  "but  now  we  can  get 
anything  we  want  simply  on  the  principle  of  united  and 
solitary  responsibility — a  guarantee  signed  by  all  the  mem- 
bers. There  is  almost  no  chance  of  failure,  and  the  mem- 
bers do  not  hesitate  to  sign  the  notes.  Then  we  agree  to 
pay  the  bank  the  usual  rate  of  interest — say,  5  per  cent — • 
and  to  pay  back  at  the  rate  of  10  ore  (10  ore  is  not  quite 
three  cents  American  money)  for  each  100  pounds  of  milk 
handled.  Then  the  bookkeeper  in  paying  the  farmers  for  a 
hundredweight  of  milk  deducts  not  only  the  fixed  rate  for 
expenses,  insurance  and  interest,  but  also  the  three  cents 
that  goes  to  pay  ofif  the  debt.  Suppose,  for  example,  a 
farmer  would  otherwise  net  $1.15  per  hundredweight  for  his 
milk,  then  a  deduction  of  three  cents  would  leave  him  $1.12. 
Usually  the  rate  of  repayment  is  so  figured  as  to  clear  off 
the  debt  in  seven  to  ten  years,  but  it  has  happened  that 
creameries  have  paid  out  completely  in  four  years." 

There  is  one  other  principle  religiously  observed  in  all 
these  co-operative  creameries  and  other  Danish  co-opera- 
tive enterprises  which  Mr.  Monrad  insisted  that  I  must 
emphasize  in  writing  of  the  subject  for  American  farmers — 
the  principle  of  having  all  contracts  absolutely  definite, 
binding,  compulsory  and  businesslike.  And  in  this  I  am 
sure  that  he  is  right.  If  we  don't  mean  business  about  this 
matter  of  co-operation — straightout,  thoroughgoing, 
Yankee-like  "business" — w^e  might  as  well  let  it  alone.  Co- 
operation, I  am  thoroughly  convinced,  is  the  greatest  dis- 
covery of  modern  times  for  the  betterment  and  uplift  of 
our  farming  people,  but  like  everything  else  worth  having, 
something  must  be  sacrificed  to  get  it.  Farmers  cannot 
simply  enroll   their  names  as  members  of  a  co-operative 


196         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

society  and  then  float  into  an  earthly  Paradise  on  flowery 
beds  of  ease.  City  business  men  cannot  succeed  unless  the 
members  of  their  partnerships  or  corporations  are  strictly, 
definitely,  legally,  bound  up  to  do  certain  things,  and  farm- 
ers cannot  make  all  the  middleman's  profits  unless  they  are 
willing  to  take  some  of  the  middleman's  risks.  Let's  make 
up  our  minds  to  that.  But  the  farmer  has  this  advantage, 
that  while  loss  to  a  business  man  often  falls  heavily  on  an 
individual,  loss  in  a  co-operative  enterprise,  in  the  rare 
cases  where  it  has  happened  at  all  in  Denmark,  has  been 
so  widely  scattered  as  to  seriously  handicap  nobody. 

"You  must  make  your  American  farmers  resolve  on  the 
compulsory  feature  in  the  very  beginning,"  Mr.  Monrad 
said  to  me.  "Great  as  are  the  advantages  for  co-operation 
here  in  Denmark,  our  farmers  would  nevertheless  have 
failed  in  great  measure — just  as  the  German  farmers  would 
also  have  failed — if  we  had  not  had  the  compulsory  feature 
inserted  in  all  our  agreements.  When  a  creamery  is  started, 
each  subscriber  agrees  to  deliver  all  his  milk  that  is  not 
required  for  family  use  for  ten  years  to  come — sometimes 
it's  seven  years,  but  usually  it's  ten — to  the  new  establishment." 

And  this  promise  is  no  mere  expression  of  intention,  but 
a  definite,  binding,  legal  agreement  that  can  be  enforced 
in  the  courts,  and  damages  can  be  collected  from  any  man 
violating  it.  Thus  if  a  man  has  agreed  to  deliver  milk  from 
five  cows,  he  will  be  responsible  to  the  creamery  if  he  sells 
his  farm  without  requiring  the  purchaser  to  assume  his 
obligation  and  continue  to  send  the  milk  from  five  cows. 
The  other  day  a  case  came  up  where  a  man  who  had  agreed 
to  deliver  all  his  milk  had  increased  his  herd,  and  from  his 
newly-bought  cows  had  sold  milk  to  the  city  instead  of  the 
creamery.  Thereupon  the  creamery  sued  him,  and  the 
court  directed  that  he  be  fined  not  to  exceed  $500,  the  exact 
amount  to  be  fixed  by  a  disinterested  committee. 

Of  course,  all  this  is  nothing  but  businesslike.  Ordinarily, 
it  requires  milk  from  about  400  cows  to  insure  the  success 
of  a  creamery,  and  it  would  be  poor  business  to  start  one  if 


cows  AND  CO-OPERATION   HAVE  MADE  DENMARK  RICH    197 

on  some  excuse  or  other  half  the  members  might  pull  out 
and  leave  the  creamery  without  sufficient  milk  supply  to 
make  its  operation  profitable.  Suppose,  for  example,  in 
some  neighborhood  there  was  a  rival  creamery  that  wished 
to  break  up  the  co-operative  creamery.  If  there  were  no 
compulsory  provision  in  the  co-operative  creamery  con- 
tracts, the  other  creamery  might  for  a  time  offer  unwar- 
rantably high  prices  and  so  entice  away  a  sufficient  num- 
ber of  co-operative  creamery  members  long  enough  to 
break  it  up.  If  we  are  going  into  co-operation  here  in 
America,  we  must  have  definite,  binding  agreements  in 
every  case — and  agreements  covering  a  sufficient  product 
to  insure  success. 

The  Kildevang  creamery  near  Ringsted  which  I  inspected 
may  be  regarded,  I  suppose,  as  fairly  typical,  in  essential 
things,  of  the  other  twelve  hundred  co-operative  creameries 
in  Denmark.  "Kildevang"  was  started  twenty-three  years 
ago  with  300  cows  and  a  debt,  but  is  now  patronized  by 
120  farmers  with  800  cows,  and  has  nearly  paid  for  itself 
out  of  installments,  besides  the  profits  returned  directly  to 
the  farmers.  I  failed  to  inquire,  but  I  suspect  that  the 
plant  has  been  enlarged  and  that  the  installments  now  pay- 
able are  for  the  addition  to  the  original  plant.  This  cream- 
ery sends  out  nine  wagons  every  sun-up  to  collect  the  milk, 
and  produces,  I  was  told,  385  pounds  of  butter  daily,  and  I 
don't  know  how  much  cheese.  Its  yearly  income  is  $54,000, 
and  for  the  last  six  months  period  for  which  I  have  the 
figures,  it  appears  to  have  made  a  profit  after  paying  all 
expenses  and  installment  on  debt,  of  10,794  kroner — about 
$2,914.38,  or  at  the  rate  of  about  $50  a  year  profits  for  each 
farmer.  Of  course,  however,  the  profits  are  not  divided 
per  capita  among  the  farmers,  but  each  farmer  receives 
dividends  exactly  in  proportion  to  the  quantity  of  butter 
fat  he  has  furnished.  In  business  management,  moreover, 
Danish  creameries  are  absolutely  democratic.  In  the  busi- 
ness meeting  every  member  has  one  vote,  whether  he  fur- 
nishes milk  from  five  cows  or  fifty. 


198         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

A  large  part  of  the  farmer's  golden  reward  is  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  co-operative  enterprises  are  able  to  "standard- 
ize" their  products  and  get  correspondingly  higher  prices, 
as  an  individual  farmer  is  not.  A  co-operative  creamery, 
bacon  factory,  or  egg-packing  factory  is  able  to  establish 
a  standard  of  quality  and  guarantee  this  standard  to  the 
consumer.  Most  farmers  are  not  as  careful  as  they  ought 
to  be,  and  where  a  farmer  is  careful  to  give  good  quality 
every  time,  his  reward  is  slight  because  he  is  too  small  a 
factor  to  be  considered  by  the  market.  But  on  the  large 
markets  a  large  group  of  farmers  can  demand  and  secure 
higher  prices  for  higher  quality  products.  Jim  Smith  may 
produce  butter  of  superb  quality,  for  example,  with  small 
reward;  but  Jim  Smith's  county  may  make  a  reputation 
which  will  mean  added  profit  for  every  producer  in  every 
shipment. 

So  it  has  been  with  Danish  butter.  Before  the  day  of  the 
co-operative  creamery  most  of  it  was  bad,  and  what  wasn't 
bad  fared  after  the  fashion  of  poor  dog  Tray  in  the  Blue- 
back  speller — it  was  punished  because  it  was  in  bad  com- 
pany. "Before  the  co-operative  creameries,"  said  a  thought- 
ful Danish  farmer  to  me,  "the  farmers  could  hardly  sell 
their  butter  at  all.  It  was  so  dirty  England  wouldn't  have 
it  at  any  price."  What  "peasant  butter"  was  sold  at  all 
brought  one-third  less  than  the  regular  creamery  product. 
Now  Denmark  boasts  that  there  is  only  one  quality  of 
Danish  butter — good.  "Second-class  and  third-class  butter 
has  disappeared  from  the  market." 

A  great  part  of  the  co-operative  creamery's  profit  is  due 
to  saving  the  middleman's  charges,  but  my  conviction  is 
that  about  as  large  a  part  is  due  to  the  fact  that  it  is 
able  to  guarantee  its  customers  absolute  regularity  in 
quality  and  almost  absolute  regularity  in  quantity  of 
butter  furnished.  Take  Kildevang  as  an  example.  Not 
only  is  everything  about  the  place  appetizingly  clean,  but 
every  single  time  a  pound  of  butter  goes  back  to  a  patron 
(and,  of  course,  the  patrons  get  their  own  family  butter 


cows  AND  CO-OPERATION  HAVE  MADE  DENMARK  RICH    199 

from  the  creamery  instead  of  depending  on  the  old-fash- 
ioned dasher  churn)  a  notice  is  inclosed  reminding  the 
farmer  over  and  over  again  w^ith  what  must  be  almost 
exasperating  reiteration  just  what  he  must  do  in  order  to 
have  his  milk  supply  acceptably  clean.  "Kun  God  Maelk 
Giver  Smor"  ("Only  Good  Milk  Makes  Fine  Butter")  is 
the  heading  set  in  big  type ;  and  the  regulations  as  a  whole 
cover  what  we  might  call  the  ten  commandments  of  good 
and  cleanly  dairying. 

Moreover,  since  Noah  Webster's  fables  have  come  to 
mind,  I  may  remark  that  the  Danish  creamery  managers, 
following  the  example  of  the  old  chap  who  found  the  saucy 
boy  up  his  apple  tree,  do  not  look  upon  soft  words  as  the 
only  legitimate  means  of  persuasion.  If  these  fail,  then, 
figuratively  speaking,  "they  try  what  virtue  there  is  in 
stones."  Rider  Haggard  says  of  the  Brorup  Co-operative 
Dairy : 

"All  milk  supplied  is  sampled  by  experts  once  a  week.  If  any  par- 
ticular lot  does  not  come  up  to  the  standard  the  farmer  is  warned,  and 
if  the  deficiency  in  fat  or  other  imperfection  continues,  his  milk  is  re- 
fused. This  rarely  happens,  however,  as  the  result  of  such  a  warning 
is  that  the  quality  of  the  aspersed  milk  improves." 

Moreover,  "Sis  .Cow,"  as  Uncle  Remus  would  say,  must 
be  watered  amply  if  she  is  to  give  milk,  and  it  looks  odd 
to  see  vehicles  like  our  city  water  wagons  traversing  the 
fields  for  her  refreshment.  Running  water  is  not  very 
plentiful  in  the  tile-drained  fields  (nearly  everything  is  tile- 
drained  in  Denmark),  but  windmills — quaintly  picturesque 
old  Dutch  affairs  here  and  there  side  by  side  with  new 
American-looking  steel  ones — pump  water  easily ;  and  wind, 
they  observe,  is  cheap  and  plentiful.  Moreover,  here  is  an- 
other chance  for  co-operation,  and  a  Dane  had  rather  miss 
his  dinner  than  a  chance  to  co-operate.  Marius  Yensen, 
Hans  Hansen,  Peter  Villadsen,  and  the  other  small  holders 
mentioned  in  my  last  chapter,  together  with  fifteen  other 
small  farmers,  jointly  own  a  windmill  which  I  found  sup- 


200 


HOW    FARMERS    CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 


plying  water  to  all  the  eighteen  families  clustered  in  the 
community. 

Cows  and  co-operation — this  is  the  team  all  Denmark  is 
betting  on !  Not  only  have  the  creameries  doubled  the 
farmer's  profits  on  the  same  quantity  of  milk,  but  the  "con- 
trol society"  or  cow-testing  association,  to  which  I  have 
already  referred,  is  teaching  him  to  get  rid  of  his  unprofit- 
able cows  and  so  double  his  profits  again  as  a  result  of  keep- 
ing cows  of  better  quality.  In  1907,  the  cows  owned  by 
members  on  the  control  association  averaged  6,344  pounds 
each,  while  those  owned  by  farmers  who  were  not  members, 
averaged  only  5,643  pounds.  There  has  never  been  the 
slightest  disposition  to  ignore  the  importance  of  scientific 
farming  among  these  Danish  co-operators ;  there  has  been 
no  foolish  scoffing  at  "book  farming."  "We  are  going  to 
get  everything  we  can  both  out  of  better  means  of  produc- 
tion and  better  means  of  distribution,"  has  been  their  motto, 
and  they  have  made  double  profits  for  this  very  reason.  If 
I  had  to  name  the  three  things  that  are  almost  equally 
responsible  for  the  Danish  dairyman-farmer's  full  pocket- 
book,  I  should  say : 

(i)  Scientific  and  economical  production,  due  to  thorough 
study  of  the  principles  of  dairying  and  farming  in  farm 
papers,  farmer's  bulletins  and  extension  work. 

(2)  Scientific  handling  and  marketing,  due  to  co-opera- 
tive effort  along  strict  business  lines ;  and — 

(3)  The  extra  top-notch  prices  obtained  through  ability 
to  enforce  from  producers  and  guarantee  to  consumers  ab- 
solute cleanliness  and  a  high  quality  product. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

AVERAGING  $2   MORE   PER   HOG  THROUGH 

CO-OPERATION 

That  Is  the  Net  Result  to  Danish  Farmers — An  Interesting 
Visit  to  a  Co-operative  Bacon  Factory  and  a  Co-operative 
Egg-Packing  Plant — Importance  of  Standardising  Products 
Again  Emphasised — $2.yo  Fine  for  Sending  a  Bad  Egg 

NEXT  to  the  co-operative  creameries,  we  find  in  the 
"bacon  factories"  or  slaughter  houses,  as  they  are 
usually  called  in  English,  the  most  important  form 
of  Danish  co-operation.  I  was  told  in  Copen- 
hagen that  there  were  thirty-nine  of  these  establishments, 
a  figure  which  compares  with  one  in  1888,  seventeen  in  1895, 
and  thirty-two  in  1905,  a  very  steady  increase  in  the  num- 
ber in  operation.  Over  a  million  and  a  half  pigs  are  slaugh- 
tered every  year,  or  three  times  as  many  pigs  as  there  were 
in  all  Denmark  thirty  years  ago — a  million  and  a  half  pigs 
a  year,  observe,  in  a  country  with  just  a  little  larger  popula- 
tion (2,757,057)  than  an  average  American  state,  and  not 
one-third  the  area  (15,582  square  miles).  While  Denmark 
is  a  kingdom  all  to  itself,  therefore,  we  must  always  keep  in 
mind  that  it  is  only  about  the  size  of  three  or  four  congres- 
sional districts  in  America. 

Personally,  I  found  the  Ringsted  Bacon  Factory  one  of 
the  most  interesting  places  I  visited,  as  I  had  gone  through 
too  many  personal  experiences  in  hog  killing,  scalding, 
scraping,  etc.,  on  cold  November  sun-ups  for  the  place  to 
disturb  me;  but  the  manager,  Mr.  Jens  Piil,  told  me  that 
when  Mr.  Rider  Haggard  visited  the  place  he  left  almost 
before  he  got  there — as  that  gentleman  himself  confesses. 
The  Ringsted  factory  collects  pigs  from  all  the  country  for 

201 


202         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

ten  miles  around,  now  has  3,300  members,  and  slaughters  a 
thousand  pigs  a  day — one  and  a  quarter  a  minute  during 
working  hours.  The  Biblical  saying  about  the  grass 
"which  today  is  and  tomorrow  is  cast  into  the  oven" 
came  vividly  to  mind,  for  the  conversion  from  live  pigs  into 
pork  ready  for  curing  is  almost  oppressively  sudden.  I 
didn't  make  an  investigation  for  myself  upon  this  point,  but 
a  man  who  did,  says: 

"I  timed  by  my  watch  a  pig  from  the  moment  he  was  stuck  to 
where  the  carcass  had  been  scraped,  inspected,  cleaned  and  divided  in 
half,  ready  for  the  government  inspector's  stamp  (which  is  burned  on 
the  side  with  a  factory  stamp  befoie  going  into  the  cooling  rooms), 
and  it  was  exactly  twenty  minutes,  and  the  work  was  most  thoroughly 
done." 

It  would  hardly  interest  the  reader,  or  delight  his  aesthetic 
sense,  to  describe  the  slaughtering  operations.  When 
David  B.  Hill  was  returning  from  a  National  Democratic 
convention  once  he  remarked  that  "Presidents  are  like 
sausages :  you  like  them  better  if  you  don't  see  them  made" ; 
and  it  is  a  good  deal  the  same  way  with  all  pork  products. 
Suffice  it  to  say  that  all  the  latest  improved  appliances  such 
as  Armour  and  Cudahy  use  in  America,  will  be  found  in 
these  Danish  factories,  and  every  operation  is  conducted 
in  a  thoroughly  scientific,  economical  and  businesslike  man- 
ner. Fifty-two  men  are  employed  at  Ringsted  and  every 
man  knows  his  job  and  does  it.  Moreover,  here,  as  in  Chi- 
cago, they  "save  everything  about  the  pig  except  the 
squeal."  After  passing  through  the  cooling  rooms  with 
their  fresh  carcasses,  the  enormous  curing  vats,  and  the  lard 
department,  we  entered  the  sausage  department  where  an 
automatic  sausage-stuffing  machine  was  doing  its  work  with 
a  celerity  that  would  amaze  our  American  farmers,  and  next 
discovered  that  even  the  blood  of  the  slaughtered  hogs  is 
carefully  saved,  mixed  with  grain  and  molasses,  and  sold 
as  a  pig  feed !  The  livers  were  formerly  exported  to  Ger- 
many, but  about  1903  Germany  passed  a  law  forbidding 


AVERAGING  $2  MORE  PER  HOG  THROUGH  CO-OPERATION   203 

their  importation,  whereupon  these  resourceful  Danes  rose 
immediately  to  the  emergency.  The  bacon  factory  man- 
agers "put  their  heads  together  and  drafted  leaflets  with  the 
aid  of  experts,  embodying  recipes  for  making  delicate  and 
savory  dishes  from  pigs'  livers."  These  recipes  were  scat- 
tered over  Denmark,  with  results  that  were  quickly  ap- 
parent. 

I  have  already  remarked  that  the  co-operative  creameries 
in  Denmark  have  probably  increased  the  farmer's  profits 
quite  as  largely  by  requiring  and  guaranteeing  a  uniform  high 
quality  as  by  saving  middleman's  profits.  There  is,  of 
course,  not  so  much  room  for  variation  in  quality  of  pork, 
but  here,  too,  co-operation  has  come  to  the  aid  of  both 
producers  and  consumers  with  good  results  to  both.  In 
Ringsted,  as  in  other  co-operative  bacon  factories,  I  found 
an  official  inspector  at  work  before  whom  the  secrets  of  all 
pigs'  hearts  (and  stomachs)  stood  revealed  as  the  dead 
march  passed  in  review  before  his  ever-scrutinizing  eye. 
Every  carcass  exported  must  bear  the  inspector's  stamp, 
certifying  it  as  either  first-class  or  second-class  meat. 
"Ninety-three  per  cent  of  the  pigs  pass  the  inspector  as 
being  thoroughly  sound,"  Manager  Piil  told  me,  "seven  per 
cent  are  found  diseased.  Usually  the  removal  of  some  es- 
pecially diseased  portion  leaves  the  rest  of  the  pig  all  right, 
and  only  one-third  of  i  per  cent  of  the  carcasses  have  to  be 
rejected  altogether." 

From  its  small  farmer  patrons,  I  was  told,  the  Ringsted 
establishment  gets  about  ten  pigs  a  year  each,  from  owners 
of  medium-sized  farms,  thirty  to  forty  pigs  each,  and  from 
others  eighty  to  one  hundred. 

The  space  I  have  left  will  only  allow  me  to  refer  briefly 
to  the  business  side  of  these  co-operative  slaughter  houses. 
We  have  all  heard  of  "wheels  within  wheels,"  and  this  is 
what  one  finds  almost  everywhere  in  studying  co-operation 
in  Denmark.  The  bacon  factories  are  themselves  co-op- 
erative and  then  they  co-operate  in  mutual  insurance  of  their 
products,  and  in  mutual  accident  insurance  for  their  work- 


204         HOW   FARMERS  CO-OPERATE  AND  DOUBLE   PROFITS 

men,  and  in  mutual  insurance  against  losses  through  labor 
strikes — although  I  confess  I  never  heard  of  a  strike  in 
Denmark, 

The  Ringsted  factory,  I  should  not  omit  to  state,  was 
started  sixteen  years  ago,  with  less  than  i,ooo  members,  as 
compared  with  the  3,300  it  has  today,  and  it  then  took  care 
of  only  400  pigs  a  week  in  busy  seasons,  while  it  has  recently 
handled  2,000  a  week.  The  farmers  borrowed  the  money 
to  build  the  plant,  and  have  paid  out  of  the  profits  for  the 
equipment  $43,200,  besides  the  other  profits  paid  directly 
to  the  farmers.  In  fact,  all  these  bacon  factories  and 
slaughter  houses  seem  to  have  paid  handsomely.  Ten  per 
cent  a  year  seems  a  usual  dividend ;  and  one  plant  in  fifteen 
years  paid  out  from  its  profits  $40,000  for  equipment,  be- 
sides paying  each  farmer-member  78  cents  bonus  for  every 
pig  furnished  in  addition  to  the  full  market  price.  An  Irish 
deputation  which  visited  Denmark  several  years  ago,  found  the 
Roskilde  society  paying  a  bonus  of  73  cents  per  hundred- 
weight, Haslev  84  cents,  Horsens  and  Kolding  92  cents. 
In  other  words,  the  farmers  received  profits  or  dividends  of 
from  $1.46  to  $2.84  on  each  200-pound  hog  delivered,  in 
addition  to  top-notch  market  prices.  It  is  not  hard  to  con- 
vert people  to  the  benefits  of  co-operation  where  you  can 
present  such  argument  as  that ! 

In  the  bacon  factories,  as  in  the  creameries,  there  is  abso- 
lutely equal  suffrage.  Every  member  has  one  vote,  and 
only  one,  in  the  yearly  meetings.  "It  doesn't  matter 
whether  a  man  furnishes  one  pig  or  one  hundred,"  Manager 
Piil  said  to  me.  "When  we  have  our  annual  meeting  in 
February,  all  have  the  same  voice  as  to  the  business  affairs 
of  the  organization.  An  executive  committee  of  eleven  is 
elected,  which  meets  monthly  for  the  general  conduct  of 
the  business." 

I  had  intended  writing  at  some  length  of  the  Ringsted 
Co-operative  Egg-Packing  Society,  but  must  dismiss  it  with 
a  paragraph.  In  many  respects  it  is  like  the  Irish  poultry 
society  I  have  already  described,  but  unlike  that  institution 


AVERAGING  $2  MORE  PER  HOG  THROUGH  CO-OPERATION   205 

it  collects  eggs  weekly  insteady  of  daily.  Every  Monday 
morning  it  sends  out  twenty-eight  wagons  over  a  radius  of 
eight  miles  and  gathers  in  eggs  from  2,000  members. 

It  also  handles  poultry,  and  I  was  interested  in  investigat- 
ing the  system  of  artificial  fattening  or  "cram  feeding" 
which  is  practiced  in  the  winter  months.  For  two  weeks 
the  unwilling  birds  have  milk  dough  pumped  into  them,  and 
the  society  last  year  sold  3,000  birds  thus  fattened  at  from 
24  to  2"]  cents  a  pound. 

Most  of  the  business,  however,  is  in  eggs,  and  here  the 
greatest  care  is  exercised.  A  woman  "candles"  every  ^^^ — 
that  is  to  say,  examines  it  by  looking  at  it  in  an  egg-testing 
apparatus,  the  lights  indicating  its  freshness.  Farmers  are 
supposed  to  deliver  to  the  wagons  each  Monday  only  the 
eggs  laid  the  week  before,  and  the  remorseless  tester  is  very 
likely  to  discover  any  violation  of  this  regulation.  If  by 
any  chance,  however,  an  ^^g  should  succeed  in  deceiving 
the  very  elect  who  conduct  the  "candling"  tests,  it  would 
still  have  to  reckon  with  a  yet  more  relentless  day  of  judg- 
ment, for  each  ^^^  is  rubber-stamped  with  the  initial  and 
number  by  which  the  farmer  is  known.  For  example,  "F. 
97"  means  farmer  No.  97  in  Society  F.  A  slip  is  inclosed 
with  each  box  of  eggs  asking  the  purchaser,  in  case  any  t.g'g 
proves  unsound,  to  report  its  number  to  the  society, 
and  the  society  promptly  hunts  down  "F.  97,"  or  whoever 
the  offender  may  be. 

"If  a  man  sends  a  bad  t^^^  the  manager  informed  me, 
"he  is  first  reminded  of  his  offense.  Then,  if  it  is  repeated 
so  soon  as  to  indicate  carelessness,  he  is  fined  five  kroner 
>($i.35)  ;  for  the  third  oft'ense,  $2.70;  and  if  he  persists  in 
evil-doing,  he  is  expelled." 

Quality,  quality — that  is  the  watchword  in  all  Danish  co- 
operation. The  societies  demand  quality;  enforce  quality, 
guarantee  quality;  and  they  could  never  have  succeeded 
in  winning  such  profits  for  their  members  if  they  had  not 
been  whole-heartedly  determined  to  give  an  absolutely 
square  deal   to   every  customer.     Every  creamery,   every 


206         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

slaughter  house,  every  egg-packing  institution,  feels  itself 
in  some  sense  a  trustee  of  the  reputation,  the  good  name, 
of  Denmark,  of  Danish  farmers,  of  agricultural  co-operation ! 
Even  the  humblest  peasant  shares  the  feeling. 

"I'll  give  you  one  of  the  big  secrets  of  our  success,"  a 
very  intelligent  farmer  said  to  me.  "It's  in  the  form  of  an 
incident  a  Swedish  authority  observed  when  investigating 
our  egg  export  business.  While  traveling  across  the  coun- 
try just  after  he  got  here,  he  came  to  a  little  cottage  where 
an  aged  houseman's  wife  was  carefully  cleaning  the  last 
one  of  a  big  basket  of  eggs. 

"  'Mother,'  he  said  to  her,  'you  seem  to  be  wonderfully 
particular  to  rub  off  every  spot.' 

"  'Yes,  sir,  stranger,'  was  her  prompt  reply,  'don't  you 
know  that  we  must  have  nice  and  clean  eggs  for  the  honor 
of  Old  Denmark?' 

"  'And  right  there,'  the  Swede  continued,  'I  knew  that  I 
had  found  out  one  of  the  main  explanations  of  the  great  suc- 
cess I  had  come  over  to  investigate.'  " 


CHAPTER  XXVI 

"FOLK  HIGH  SCHOOLS"  RESPONSIBLE   FOR 
SUCCESS  OF  DANISH  CO-OPERATION 

Denmark  Has  Not  Only  Good  Primary  Schools  and  Compul- 
sory Attendance,  but  a  Remarkable  System  of  "People's 
High  Schools" — These  High  Schools  Make  Ideal  Social  Cen- 
ters— Ignoring  Stereotyped  Formulas,  They  Aim  to  Prepare 
Students  Not  for  College  but  for  Efficient  Living  in  Their 
Own  Neighborhoods 

THE  farmers  rule  the  roost  in  Denmark,"  Mr,  Mon- 
rad  said  to  me  as  we  talked  together  in  Copen- 
hagen. "It  is  not  a  lawyer-bossed  country  such 
as  you  have  in  America,  where  lawyers  outnum- 
ber all  other  classes  in  Congress,  in  the  Legislatures,  and 
in  the  party  councils."  Mr.  Monrad  had  lived  in  America 
several  years,  and  knew  what  he  was  talking  about.  "In 
our  Rigsdag  or  Congress,"  he  continued,  "the  farmer  mem- 
bers have  an  absolute  majority." 

The  explanation  of  all  these  things  is  not  far  to  seek.  If 
three  things — Ownership,  Education  and  Co-operation — ex- 
plain the  Danish  farmer's  prosperity,  two  things — Educa- 
tion and  Organization — explain  his  political  power.  Organ- 
ization alone  will  not  do  the  trick.  You  might  organize 
ten  thousand  men  in  your  county  tomorrow  into  an  army, 
but  if  they  had  not  been  "educated"  for  their  work — that  is, 
if  they  had  not  been  trained  to  shoot  and  to  march  and  to 
maneuver — they  would  go  to  pieces  in  a  minute  before  a 
thoroughly  organized  and  disciplined — that  is  to  say,  thor- 
oughly "educated" — German  battalion.  So  our  farmers,  no 
matter  how  well  organized,  will  fail,  in  great  measure, 
unless  they  are  educated,  unless  they  read  and  study  and 

207 


208         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE  AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

plan  as  wisely  as  the  great  body  of  the  educated  and  or- 
ganized forces  with  which  in  a  democracy  they  must  always 
contend. 

Let  me  give  my  readers  here  the  sign  and  password  of 
the  Danish  farmer's  success.  I  found  the  sign  at  the  first 
farmers'  school  I  visited  in  Denmark — the  Kare- 
have  "Husmandskole,"  near  Ringsted.  It  is  the 
emblem  of  this  school  to  which  so  many  farmers 
come  for  short  courses,  and  might  well  be  the 
emblem  of  many  a  similar  institution  in  America 
— an  owl  and  a  spade  united,  the  owl  represent- 
ing knowledge,  the  spade  representing  labor. 
"It  means  'Wisdom  and  Work' "  ( Visdom  02 
Arheida),  we  were  told,  and  our  entire  party 
agreed  that  it  might  well  be  taken  as  the  emblem 
of  the  new  Denmark.  And  it  is,  indeed,  because 
the  Danish  farmer  has  combined  Wisdom  and 
Work,  Learning  and  Labor,  Education  and  Energy  that  he 
rules  his  kingdom  and  divides  to  every  man  the  fruit  of 
his  labors. 

While,  of  course,  it  is  to  the  splendid  system  of  compul- 
sory public  school  education  that  we  must  look  for  the 
secret  of  the  Danish  farmer's  intellectual  progressiveness, 
the  Karehave  school  itself  is  about  as  good  an  illustration 
as  one  could  wish  for  to  emphasize  the  general  thirst  for 
knowledge.  "Husmandskole"  it  is  called,  or  "Housemen's 
School" — houseman  being  the  Danish  word  for  small 
farmer.  No  one  under  eighteen  is  admitted,  and  the  in- 
struction the  boys  and  men  receive  is  agricultural  in  char- 
acter, their  term  lasting,  I  believe,  from  October  to  May, 
while  the  May-to-October  session  for  the  girls  and  women 
looks  to  helping  them  in  cooking,  housework,  poultry  keep- 
ing, gardening,  etc. 

Karehave's  greatest  service  to  the  farmers  of  Denmark, 
however,  is  doubtless  rendered  through  its  "short  courses" 
— eleven-day  courses  in  such  subjects  as  dairying,  stock 
feeding,  poultry  raising,   special   crops,  etc. — eighteen   of 


"folk  high  schools"  responsible  for  success    209 

these  courses  being  given  each  year,  one  beginning  the  first 
Tuesday  and  another  beginning  the  third  Tuesday,  in  nine 
months  of  the  twelve.  It  was  inspiring  to  see  the  grown 
men  and  women  who  had  come  for  these  courses,  when  I 
visited  the  school ;  middle-aged  farmers,  smoking  their 
crooked  pipes,  walked  across  the  campus  in  company  with 
their  gray-haired  wives  who  had  come  to  find  out  how 
science  could  help  them  in  their  work.  "Frequently  the 
husband  comes  first  and  takes  the  agricultural  course,"  I 
was  told,  "and  is  so  much  pleased  that  he  has  his  wife  come, 
or  perhaps  comes  back  with  her.  Or  perhaps  the  good 
woman  is  more  alert  and  progressive  than  her  husband, 
in  which  case  she  is  not  rarely  the  first  one  to  find  out  the 
helpfulness  of  the  school  and  come."  Aged  men  and  women, 
such  as  would  seldom  tkink  of  such  a  thing  in  America, 
renew  their  youth  and  refresh  their  minds  with  new-found 
knowledge  at  Karehave.  "I  believe  you  have  had  one 
student  seventy-two  years  old,"  Editor  Christensen  said  to 
Professor  Nielsen  of  Karehave,  as  we  talked  together.  "No, 
we  have  done  better  than  that,"  Professor  Nielsen  replied. 
"We  have  had  one  pupil  enrolled  who  was  seventy-six,  and 
at  one  time  we  had  two  pupils  past  seventy  years  old !" 

Perhaps,  just  as  Denmark  is  said  to  have  "the  microbe 
of  co-operation,"  it  also  has  some  microbe  that  keeps  men 
always  eager  to  learn  more.  At  any  rate,  when  I  called 
by  the  American  Embassy  in  Copenhagen  the  day  I  sailed 
to  tell  Dr.  Egan  good-bye,  I  found  him  assiduously  engaged 
in  a  French  lesson — and  he  is  sixty-four! 

But  what  Danish  educators  chiefly  boast  of  is  their  sys- 
tem of  "folk  high  schools,"  attended  by  thousands  and 
thousands  of  young  men  and  women,  from  eighteen  to 
twenty-five  years  old.  These  schools  differ  a  great  deal 
from  our  American  high  schools,  which,  as  a  Dane  said  to 
me,  too  often  aim  only  at  preparing  a  boy  or  girl  for  college 
or  the  university,  whereas  the  Danish  people's  or  "folk'* 
high  schools  aim  at  preparing  for  life,  industry  and  citizen- j 
ship.     The  reader  will  observe  that  the  Karehave  school^ 


210        now   FARMERS    CO-OPERATE   AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

I  have  just  been  describing  is  an  institution  for  technical 
instruction  in  agriculture  and  domestic  science,  and  does  not 
belong  to  the  type  of  "folk  high  schools"  or  "people's  high 
schools"  I  shall  now  briefly  discuss. 

So  far  as  I  know,  there  is  nothing  anywhere  else  in  the 
world  quite  like  these  "Folk  High  Schools,"  and  they 
deserve  the  careful  study  of  all  our  people  who  are  inter- 
ested in  the  improvement  of  country  life.  In  Denmark 
these  folk  high  schools  are  the  true  "social  centers," 
which  should  form  the  heart  of  every  country  neighborhood, 
and  they  no  doubt  account  largely  both  for  the  unusual 
spirit  of  comradeship  and  the  high  average  of  intelligence 
throughout  the  country. 

These  schools  are  not  given  over  to  formal  text-book 
lessons  and  examinations,  but  the  instruction  is  almost 
entirely  in  the  form  of  public  lectures,  followed  by  discus- 
sions, questions,  answers,  etc.,  the  general  aim  being  to 
stimulate  character  building,  good  fellowship,  and  patriot- 
ism in  the  pupils,  "developing  the  heart,  mind  and  will," 
as  it  is  expressed.  They  study  all  the  best  Danish  litera- 
ture, a  special  object  being  to  develop  the  reading  habit; 
history  gets  a  very  large  part  of  the  time ;  agriculture 
is  studied  in  many  schools;  geography,  mathematics,  Eng- 
lish, gymnastics  and  athletics  are  given  attention ;  and  a 
special  effort  is  made  to  furnish  adequate  instruction  in 
health  subjects — physiology,  hygiene  and  sanitation.  An 
important  aim  is  that  of  stimulating  patriotism,  and  the 
singing  of  the  beautiful  national  songs  is  done  with  such 
enthusiasm  and  inspiration  that  a  foreigner  doesn't  need 
to  know  the  words  in  order  to  realize  their  beauty.  Old 
and  young  alike  come  to  these  lectures,  and  nearly  every 
visitor  to  Denmark  goes  back  with  some  story  of  the  crowds 
he  saw — some  walking,  some  driving,  some  on  the  ever- 
present  bicycle — all  bound  for  the  neighborhood  high  school 
to  hear  the  public  lectures.  As  Mr.  Monrad  said  to  me : 
"The  people's  high  schools  may  be  said  to  aim  simply  at 
arousing  a  craving  for  more  knowledge  and  e\:.Iltually  self- 


"folk  high  schools     responsible  for  success    211 

improvement,  but  originally  it  was  a  half-religious,  half- 
patriotic  propaganda  which  proved  a  cornerstone  for  the 
co-operative  building,  or — if  you  please — a  fertilizer  for  the 
co-operative  tree." 

To  provide  a  broader  culture  for  the  great  masses  of  the 
people ;  to  get  them  to  read  and  think  and  love  their  coun- 
try and  their  fellows;  and  to  promote  a  spirit  of  good  fel- 
lowship and  bind  the  neighborhood  together  both  in  indus- 
trial and  intellectual  activity — this  is  the  great  purpose  of 
the  folk  high  schools,  and  most  remarkably  do  they  succeed 
in  carrying  it  out. 

Every  boy  and  girl,  or  young  man  or  woman,  must  go  to 
the  high  school  if  he  or  she  is  really  to  "count"  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. "Not  to  go,  is  a  social  loss,"  as  Dr.  Egan  puts  it. 
The  young  men  spend  the  five  winter  months,  November 
to  March  inclusive,  and  the  young  women  the  three  sum- 
mer months,  June,  July  and  August,  as  boarders  in 
these  schools,  and  here  I  must  emphasize  the  universal 
opinion  that  the  acquaintances  and  the  spirit  of  comradeship 
formed  in  these  schools,  along  with  the  high  degree  of  in- 
telligence they  insure,  explain,  in  great  measure,  the  success 
co-operation  has  attained.  "These  high  schools  are  the 
basis  of  the  agricultural  development,"  Minister  Egan  has 
repeatedly  declared  in  his  American  lectures ;  and  Dr.  Her- 
bert G.  Smith  is  only  stating  a  matter  of  common  knowledge 
when  he  says  in  his  "Agricultural  Co-operation" : 

"The  leaders  of  the  movement  in  Denmark  attribute  the  capacity  for 
organization  among  the  Danish  farmers  to  two  chief  causes — namely, 
the  education  given  to  the  peasants  in  the  rural  high  schools,  and  the 
division  of  the  land  among  the  small  free  holders." 

"No,  we  could  never  have  won  the  success  we  have  with- 
out the  folk  high  schools,"  the  first  Dane  I  interviewed 
declared ;  and  the  last  one  echoed  the  same  opinion.  "It  is 
in  them  that  the  people  learn  fellowship  and  good  will," 
was  his  explanation.  One  important  point  to  keep  in  mind 
is    that    there    are    no    examinations    in    these    folk    high' 


212         HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

schools,  SO  a  young  man  or  young  woman  is  not  barred  out 
simply  because  he  or  she  may  happen  to  be  a  little  backward 
in  some  particular  study,  "or  not  know  the  exact  shade  of 
Julius  Caesar's  hair."     This  is,  indeed,  a  great  advantage. 

But  the  big  fact  to  keep  in  mind  is,  that  it  took  a  thorough 
system  of  education — not  merely  common  schools,  and  com- 
pulsory attendance,  but  high  schools  also — to  enable  the 
Danish  people  to  win  the  success,  independence  and  pros- 
perity they  have  achieved. 

I  neglected  to  ascertain  what  appropriation  the  govern- 
ment now  makes  to  these  people's  high  schools,  but  Mr. 
Monrad  tells  me  that  "$68,499  is  distributed  through  local 
authorities  and  agricultural  or  dairy  associations  to  aid 
worthy  students  in  paying  for  their  school  expenses."  And 
here  is  a  good  lesson  for  some  of  our  American  states  which 
are  lavish  in  their  support  of  universities  and  higher  institu- 
tions of  learning  for  the  benefit  of  the  fortunate  few,  but 
utterly  neglect  the  great  masses  of  farm  boys  and  girls 
who  cannot  think  of  entering  a  college,  but  ought  to  have 
special  training  in  practical  middle  schools  after  leaving 
the  regular  public  schools.  Why  should  we  not  extend 
more  help  to  farm  boys  and  girls  who  wish  to  attend  agri- 
cultural high  schools  or  take  short  courses  in  agricultural 
colleges? 

How  popular  these  "folk  high  schools"  are  in  Den- 
mark, and  how  ready  the  people  are  to  rally  to  their  support 
is  indicated  by  one  incident  that  came  to  my  attention.  A 
few  years  ago  one  of  the  schools  got  into  financial  difficul- 
ties of  some  kind  that  threatened  its  future,  and  one  thou- 
sand farmers  joined  in  raising  a  fund  for  its  deliverance! 


CHAPTER  XXVII 

SEVEN  SECRETS  OF  SUCCESS   WITH   DANISH 

CO-OPERATION 

The  Stock  Breeding  Associations  and  Rural  Credit  Unions 
Described — Businesslike  Methods  of  Starting  Co-operative 
Enterprises — Importance  of  Careful  Auditing  and  Inspection 
of  Books — The  Government  and  the  Farmer — Seven  Factors 
Which  Explain  the  Wonderful  Record  of  Danish  Co-opera- 
tion 

HOW  many  kinds  of  co-operative  societies  there  are 
in  Denmark  I  have  no  idea.  The  latest  govern- 
ment "Aarbog"  ("Yearbook")  lists  co-operative 
creameries,  co-operative  egg-packing  societies,  co- 
operative stores,  co-operative  slaughterhouses,  co-operative  fer- 
tilizer associations,  co-operative  sugar  factories,  societies  for 
co-operative  accident  insurance,  the  Co-operative  Association  for 
Buying  Agricultural  Machinery,  the  Co-operative  Association 
for  Creamery  Accident  Insurance,  and  enough  more  to  leave 
one  gasping  for  breath.  Mr.  Monrad  told  me  that  in  Naerum 
they  have  a  co-operative  bakery,  where  the  bread  for  all  the 
members  is  baked  in  enormous  ovens. 

Nearly  all  of  these  societies  are  of  hardy  outdoor  growth 
— not  an  exotic  growth  forced  into  an  unnatural  development 
through  artificial  stimulus.  The  farmers  of  Denmark  have  not 
sat  idle  waiting  for  the  government  to  do  something  for  them. 
Mr.  Roosevelt  once  said  that  our  attitude  with  regard  to  the 
negro  ought  to  be,  "Help  him  if  he  stumbles,  but  if  he  lies  down, 
let  him  stay,"  and  this  excellent  policy  has  been  steadfastly  ob- 
served by  the  Danish  government  in  its  relation  to  agricul- 
tural organizations.     It  has  stood  ready  to  help,  but  not  to 

213 


214        HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

coddle,  ready  to  supplement  the  farmer's  own  contribution, 
but  not  to  supplant  it. 

Only  in  the  case  of  the  societies  for  the  improvement  of 
stock  and  the  purchase  of  breeding  animals  have  there  been 
any  notable  government  appropriations.  The  "control  so- 
cieties" or  cow-testing  associations  of  which  there  are  530 
local  organizations,  get  $32,400  from  the  government,  and  the 
money  is  certainly  well  expended.  I  have  already  explained 
the  plan  in  brief;  once  every  eighteen  or  twenty  days  the 
representative  of  the  society  (who  is,  of  course,  a  thor- 
oughly trained,  technically  educated  dairyman — or  some- 
times a  woman)  visits  each  farmer,  ascertains  each  cow's 
milk  yield  and  the  percentage  of  butter  fat,  and  advises  the 
farmer  with  regard  to  her  feed  and  all  matters  of  common 
interest.  The  farmers  pay  about  2"]  to  54  cents  a  cow  an- 
nually for  the  service,  and  the  government  supplements  the 
amount  from  the  $32,400  appropriation  I  have  just  men- 
tioned. 

In  somewhat  the  same  fashion  traveling  agricultural  in- 
structors, corresponding  somewhat  to  our  demonstration 
agents,  are  employed  through  the  agency  of  the  society, 
the  government  paying  half  their  salaries  and  the  farmers 
one-half.  The  National  Danish  Creamery  Association  also 
gets  a  subsidy  of  about  $1,000  a  year,  one  feature  of  its  work 
being  the  encouragement  of  "Pail  Shows"  or  Butter  Shows. 
About  every  two  or  three  months  each  local  association, 
comprising  say  ten,  twenty,  or  thirty  creameries,  will  have 
an  exhibit,  samples  of  butter  from  each  creamery  being 
tested  and  scored. 

There  is  also,  through  some  organization,  general  over- 
sight into  the  quality  of  output  of  each  creamery.  The 
"surprise"  element  of  this  inquiry  is  its  effectual  and  dis- 
tinguishing feature.  Without  warning,  a  creamery  will 
get  a  telegram  requiring  it  to  express  a  sample  of  that  day's 
product  to  Copenhagen.  In  cheese  making  it  is,  of  course, 
not  practicable  to  act  so  quickly,  but  a  mold  is  sent  by  mail 
with  the  requirement  that  it  shall  be  returned  next  day. 


SEVEN  SECRETS  OF  SUCCESS  WITH  DANISH  CO-OPERATION   215 

and  the  cheese  bearing  its  imprint  forwarded  later.  No 
creamery  can  afford  to  turn  out  anything  but  clean  and 
wholesome  butter  and  cheese,  for  the  manager  never  knows 
when,  by  this  or  other  surprise  methods,  the  searchlight  of 
official  scrutiny  will  be  turned  full  upon  his  establishment. 
It  is  to  the  interest  of  every  dairy  to  require  every  other 
dairy  to  produce  a  high  quality  product,  for  all  Danish  ex- 
port butter  bears  the  government  trade-mark,  all  alike  profit 
by  its  reputation,  and  the  good  name  it  has  gained  is  indeed 
rather  to  be  chosen  than  great  riches. 

The  horse  breeding,  cattle  breeding  and  pig  breeding  as- 
sociations have  perhaps  had  a  more  rapid  growth  these  last 
five  years  than  any  other  sort  of  co-operative  organization, 
and  to  them  the  government  has  been  especially  liberal. 
The  general  plan  is  that  if  a  sufficient  group  of  farmers  join 
together  to  purchase  a  prize-winning  animal,  approved  as 
worthy  by  expert  judges,  the  government  will  itself  pay  a 
part  of  the  purchase  price.  I  have  already  recorded  the 
almost  marvelously  helpful  results  attending  such  a  policy 
in  Ireland ;  and  the  rapid  growth  of  these  organizations  and 
of  the  government  subsidies  granted  them,  indicates  that 
equal  satisfaction  must  have  been  achieved  among  the 
Danish  people.  The  government  appropriation  for  horse 
breeding  societies  has  been  increased  in  twelve  years  from 
$13,500  to  $43,500,  and  for  cattle  breeding  societies  from 
$18,900  to  $54,800. 

The  farmers'  co-operative  purchasing  societies  in  Denmark 
have  had  a  very  stormy  but  triumphant  history.  Originally, 
they  seem  to  have  aimed  only  at  buying  feeds  and  fer- 
tilizers for  their  members,  but  they  have  now  greatly  ex- 
tended their  operations  and  deal  in  a  variety  of  supplies. 
They  had  to  fight  from  the  day  of  their  birth,  and  it  was  for 
a  long  time  uncertain  whether  they  would  survive.  In 
Ireland,  when  the  co-operative  societies  for  buying  seeds 
and  fertilizers  were  started,  the  "gombeen-men"  or  time 
merchants  were  so  furious  that  in  some  cases  they  brought 
false  charges  against  the  promoters  and  had  them  arrested. 


216         HOW    FARMERS    CO-OPERATE    AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

And  Danish  co-operators,  in  their  early  days,  had  almost 
as  bitter  a  struggle.  The  merchants  combined  against  them, 
and  by  pressure  brought  the  wholesalers  and  manufacturers 
into  league  with  themselves  against  the  co-operating  farm- 
ers. That  is  to  say,  the  merchants  said  to  the  wholesalers 
and  manufacturers,  "We  will  not  buy  from  you  if  you  sell 
direct  to  the  farmers,"  and  in  consequence  the  co-operative 
societies  found  themselves  unable  to  purchase  the  sup- 
plies they  wanted,  either  from  wholesalers  or  manufacturers. 

But  the  embattled  Danish  farmers  were  not  to  be  con- 
quered so  easily.  "Very  well,"  they  said  to  the  manufac- 
turers, "decide  for  yourselves.  If  you  will  not  sell  to  us, 
we  will  build  factories  of  our  own."  And  that  is  what  they 
straightway  proceeded  to  do  in  a  number  of  instances.  The 
dairymen  have  a  co-operative  factory  for  making  their  own 
churns  and  butter  tubs,  and  there  are  a  number  of  other 
co-operative  factories — rope  factories,  woolen  factories,  fer- 
tilizer factories,  coffee  and  rice  mills,  etc.,  etc.  Just  now  a 
cement  factory  is  in  prospect. 

But  the  wise  Danes  do  not  rush  blindly  Into  any  new  en- 
terprise of  this  kind.  They  are  strictly  businesslike  in  their 
efforts.  Not  a  brick  will  be  laid  for  the  cement  factory,  not 
a  cent  of  risk  taken  by  the  farmers,  until  the  guaranteed 
orders  from  the  co-operative  stores  are  sufficient  to  insure 
its  success. 

The  seed  business  of  these  co-operative  societies  is 
naturally  immense,  and  I  was  interested  in  visiting  the 
chief  seed  farm  located  at  Lyngby  hard  by  the  agricultural 
college  there.  The  Danish  Co-operative  Wholesale  Society 
sells  one-seventh  of  all  the  farm  seeds  sold  in  the  kingdom, 
I  was  told — $12,000,000  worth — and  an  interesting  feature 
is  that  all  the  profits  are  put  aside  as  an  insurance  fund  to 
repay  any  members  who  may  have  by  any  means  received 
bad  seed.  At  Lyngby,  however,  there  are  test  plots,  from 
which  samples  of  the  seed  furnished  by  all  leading  growers 
are  tested,  and  a  farmer's  complaint  will  need  corroborative 
testimony  unless  the  society's  own  tests  indicate  that  the 


SEVEN  SECRETS  OF  SUCCESS  WITH  DANISH  CO-OPERATION   217 

seeds  were  inferior.  It  is  said  that  one  result  of  the  co- 
operative seed  business  has  been  to  greatly  improve  the 
quality  and  cheapen  the  price  of  all  kinds  of  farm  and  gar- 
den seeds. 

A  sugar  factory  is  the  newest  co-operative  enterprise  now 
assured.  There  have  been  six  or  seven  sugar  factories  in 
Denmark,  all  apparently  in  a  trust,  and  making  about  25 
per  cent  dividends,  according  to  common  report.  So  a  co- 
operative sugar  factory  w^as  planned,  product  from  a  suf- 
ficient area  guaranteed  by  the  farmer  members  to  insure  a 
full  supply  of  beets,  and  the  sanguine  incorporators  went  to 
the  Copenhagen  banks  to  borrow  the  needed  capital.  It 
was  here  that  they  ran  against  that  vague  and  nebulous, 
and  yet  powerful  influence  we  Americans  have  denominated 
"the  money  trust."  The  directors  in  the  great  banks  were 
also,  some  of  them,  directors  in  the  sugar  trust.  They 
didn't  want  a  rival  factory  started,  so  they  refused  to  lend 
the  money.  It  happened,  however,  that  one  of  the  leading 
farmers  was  cousin  to  a  rich  German  capitalist,  and  he 
furnished  the  required  capital. 

The  co-operative  credit  societies  in  Denmark  differ  rather 
notably  from  those  in  most  other  European  countries. 
Credit  unions  exist,  these  not  lending  money  directly,  but 
furnishing  the  borrower  credit  union  bonds,  which  he  can 
sell  in  the  open  market  for  whatever  he  can  realize  on  them. 

For  example,  suppose  a  Dane  has  a  farm  and  a  residence. 
From  a  popular  type  of  credit  union  he  can  borrow  three- 
fifths  the  value  of  the  house,  or  one-half  the  value  of  the 
land,  up  to  a  maximum  limit  of  $1,286.  Suppose  he  should 
be  entiled  to  borrow  $1,000.  Then  the  credit  union,  upon 
taking  his  mortgage,  instead  of  paying  him  $1,000  in  cash, 
turns  over  to  him  its  4  per  cent  state-guaranteed  bond  for 
$1,000.  He  sells  this  for  whatever  he  can  get  for  it — some- 
thing less  than  par,  depending  upon  the  state  of  the  money 
market.  Then  he  pays  2  per  cent  to  a  reserve  fund ;  and 
after  that  he  pays  4  per  cent  interest  a  year  and  i  per  cent 
extra  as  discount  or  sinking  fund,  and  this  total  of  5  per 


218         HOW    FARMERS    CO-OPER^VTE    AND   DOUBLE   PROFITS 

cent  a  year — $50  on  the  $1,000 — paid  each  year  for  45  years, 
extinguishes  the  loan.  Of  course,  if  he  wishes  to  pay  off 
earlier,  he  can  do  so.  In  this  case,  suppose  the  $1,000  in 
bonds  should  sell  at  95,  then  the  borrower  would  get  $950 
in  all.  But  he  would  be  bound  to  the  bank  for  a  full  $1,000, 
which  would  mean  in  effect  simply  that  he  paid  a  premium 
of  $50  to  get  $1,000  on  such  favorable  terms. 

The  members  of  these  credit  unions  borrow  on  their  joint, 
several  and  unlimited  liability ;  but  it  is  said  there  have  been 
no  losses  for  50  years,  and  the  2  per  cent  reser\'e  fund  would 
certainly  seem  ample  insurance  against  any  trouble  of  this  kind. 

In  most  ways,  as  the  reader  has  probably  come  to  believe, 
the  Danish  co-operative  societies  have  been  very  business- 
like, but  in  one  respect  they  have  been  unaccountably  re- 
miss. In  many  cases  they  have  neglected  to  employ  skilled 
or  professional  auditors  to  examine  their  books,  and  ap- 
parently have  neglected  to  obtain  adequate  bonds  from 
some  high  officials.  "We  are  a  sort  of  trusting,  confiding 
people,"  Mr.  Monrad  said  to  me.  "I  suppose  that  is  the 
reason  Dr.  Cook  chose  Copenhagen  as  the  place  from  which 
to  announce  that  he  had  discovered  the  North  Pole !"  At 
any  rate,  the  importance  of  requiring  absolutely  thorough-  . 
going  inspection  has  now  been  impressed  upon  the  Danish  j 
co-operators  in  such  a  manner  that  they  are  not  likely  to 
forget  it  again.  A  "high  financier"  lawyer  and  an  all-round 
"jolly  good  fellow"  got  into  the  good  graces  of  the  farmers, 
got  himself  appointed  to  some  responsible  position  where 
he  handled  a  lot  of  the  farmers'  money;  and  soon  began 
speculating.  When  the  auditing  board  would  come  around, 
he  would  wine  and  dine  them,  wind  up  with  an  invitation. 
"Now,  let's  look  over  the  books  and  see  how  much  I  have 
been  stealing,"  and  the  members,  not  being  professional 
bookkeepers,  nor  as  strict  as  they  should  have  been,  would 
go  away  and  report  everything  all  right,  this  being  the 
regular  program,  until  one  day  the  crash  came,  and  it  was 
discovered  that  the  daring  plunger  had  robbed  the  credulous 
co-operators  of  several  fortunes.     Now  the  Danish  farmers 


SEVEN  SECRETS  OF  SUCCESS  WITH  DANISH  CO-OPERATION   219 

are  beginning  to  employ  professional  auditors  for  the  ex- 
amination of  their  accounts,  just  as  the  Irish  farmers  do, 
and  as  the  German  co-operative  societies  are  required  to 
do  by  law. 

A  sort  of  summary  may  now  not  inappropriately  conclude 
our  story  of  Danish  agricultural  co-operation : 

I.  There  is  no  doubt  about  it  that  the  success  of  Danish 
co-operation  is  mainly  due  to  the  fact  that  such  a  great  pro- 
portion of  the  Danish  farmers  own  their  own  homes  and 
land — the  division  of  the  land  into  small  holdings.  Just 
how  small  they  are  will  be  indicated  by  the  following  table : 


Size  of  farms 

No.  of  farms 

Total  No.  of 
acres  in  class 

Less  than  IV2  acres      - 

68,000 
65,000 
46,000 
61,000 
8.000 
822 

25  000 

From  VA  to  13'/4  acres  _ 

450  000 

From  13^  to  40  acres 

1  150  000 

From  40  to  150  acres.     

5,900,000 
2  100  000 

From  150  to  650  acres 

More  than  650  acres 

1,150,000 

The  fact  that  there  is  such  a  great  proportion  of  these 
small  farmers  is  chiefly  attributable  to  the  liberal  terms  on 
which  the  government  advances  money  to  laborers  wishing 
to  buy  small  tracts — lending  nine-tenths  of  the  money  re- 
payable at  a  low  rate  of  interest  after  a  long  period  of  years. 
The  government  also  endeavors  to  keep  down  the  size  of 
the  farms;  under  certain  circumstances  it  appears  that  a 
man  is  not  allowed  to  buy  an  adjoining  farm  and  unite  it  with 
his  own,  though  I  could  not  get  exact  particulars  on  this  point. 

2.  No  matter  what  the  system  of  land  tenure,  however, 
the  farmers  would  never  have  succeeded  but  for  the  high 
degree  of  general  intelligence  due  to  education,  and — in 
hardly  less  measure — to  the  unique  system  of  "people's  high 
schools"  with  their  five-months'  winter  courses  for  young 
men  and  three-months'  summer  courses  for  girls. 


220        HOW   FARMERS   CO-OPERATE   AND  DOUBLE  PROFITS 

3.  Despite  the  generally  favorable  circumstances,  co-op- 
eration would  still  have  succeeded  only  partially  if  all  enter- 
prises had  not  been  based  upon  compulsory,  binding,  iron- 
clad agreements.  Mere  good  intentions  form  no  safe  basis 
for  a  business  enterprise. 

4.  The  local  societies  have  been  federated  into  larger 
groups,  and  these  larger  groups  into  national  organizations, 
with  ample  power  for  enforcing  high  standards  of  quality, 
and  of  commercial  integrity.  "For  the  honor  of  Denmark 
for  the  honor  of  Danish  farmers,  for  the  honor  of  the  cause 
of  co-operation,"  there  has  been  everlasting  insistence  upon 
quality,  cleanliness,  square  dealing;  absolute  reliability  in 
every  particular. 

5.  The  business  training,  the  self-confidence,  the  spirit 
of  fellowship,  developed  (i)  by  education  and  (2)  by  co- 
operation, have  made  the  farmers  the  political  rulers  of  the 
kingdom.  Just  as  in  America,  it  is  regarded  as  the  natural 
and  proper  thing  to  send  a  lawyer  to  the  Legislature  or  to 
.Congress,  so  in  Denmark  it  is  regarded  as  the  natural  and 
proper  thing  to  send  a  farmer. 

6.  The  farmers,  however,  have  had  little  nursing  or  cod- 
dling, and  no  lavish  appropriations.  "Help  those  who  help 
themselves,"  has  been  the  motto,  and  as  a  rule  money  has 
been  voted  only  to  such  purposes  as  the  farmers  themselves 
would  subscribe  liberally  to  further,  instead  of  spent  whole- 
sale on  such  schemes  as  our  congressional  "free  seed"  dis- 
tribution in  America. 

7.  By  reason  of  the  threefold  activities  of  the  farmers, 
(a)  as  growers  of  raw  material,  (b)  as  manufacturers  of  this 
raw  material  into  butter,  bacon  and  eggs,  and  (c)  as  sellers 
of  their  products,  they  make  three  profits  where  the  Amer- 
ican farmer  makes  one,  besides  making  their  land  richei* 
all  the  time,  so  that  everywhere  crops  are  bigger  than  they 
were  60  years  ago.  Under  these  conditions  a  man  finds 
"ten  acres  enough,"  and  the  ideal  of  "a  little  land  full  of 
happy  people"  is  not  a  dream  but  a  reality — thanks  to  Home 
Ownership,  Education  and  Co-operation. 


APPENDIX 


WHAT  SORT  OF  BY-LAWS  SHALL  WE  HAVE?  ! 

I 
REGULATIONS  FOR  A  CO-OPERATIVE  STORE.  \ 

BY-LAWS  FOR  A  FARMERS'  CLUB.  i 

i. 

PARLIAMENTARY  RULES.  I 


S2t 


APPENDIX 
WHAT  SORT  OF  BY-LAWS  SHALL  WE  HAVE? 

In  every  farmers'  organization  one  of  the  puzzling  prob- 
lems the  members  first  encounter,  as  we  have  already  in- 
timated in  Chapter  VII,  is  as  to  what  they  should  have  in 
their  constitution  and  by-laws,  or  articles  of  incorporation 
and  by-laws,  as  the  case  may  be. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  constitution,  or  if  an  incorporated 
company,  with  the  articles  of  incorporation.  These  should 
give  the  name  of  the  organization,  place  of  business,  amount 
of  capital  stock  and  size  of  shares,  what  officers  are  to  be 
chosen  and  their  duties,  and  date  of  annual  meeting.  The 
following  constitution  of  the  Excelsior  (Minn.)  Fruit 
Growers'  Association  is  a  good  type  of  constitution,  and 
with  a  little  extension  would  serve  as  articles  of  incor- 
poration : 

Constitution  of  the  Excelsior  (Minn.)  Fruit  Growers'  Association 

ARTICLE  I 

The  name  of  this  corporation  shall  be  the  Excelsior  Fruit  Growers' 
Association,  and  its  place  of  business  shall  be  Excelsior,  Hennepin 
County,  State  of  Minnesota. 

ARTICLE  II 

The  business  of  the  Association  shall  be  to  buy,  sell  and  deal  in 
fruits  of  all  kinds  grown  in  this  vicinity  and  to  do  all  things  necessary 
to  be  done  in  conducting  a  general  fruit  business. 

ARTICLE  III 

The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  be  a  president,  secretary,  treas- 
urer and  a  board  of  three  directors,  who  shall  hold  their  office  for  the 
term  of  one  year,  or  until  their  successors  are  elected  and  qualified. 
The  president  and  secretary  shall  be  ex-officio  members  of  the  board 
of  directors. 

2?3 


224  APPENDIX 

ARTICLE  IV 

The  annual  meeting  of  this  Association  shall  be  held  on  the  first 
Monday  in  April  of  each  year. 

ARTICLE  V 

The  names  of  the  first  officers  of  this  Association  are  as  follows : 
G.  W.  Shuman,  President ;  E.  G.  E.  Reel,  Secretary ;  C.  W.  Spickerman, 
Treasurer;  H.  H.  Whitmore,  P.  M.  Endsley  and  R.  A.  Wright, 
Directors. 

ARTICLE  VI 
The  president  and  secretary  of  this  Association  are  hereby  author- 
ized to  execute  and  acknowledge  all  papers,  contracts  and  deeds  neces- 
sary to  be  executed  and  acknowledged  by  said  Association,  but  they 
shall  not  execute  and  acknowledge  papers  of  any  kind  except  by  the 
consent  and  direction  of  the  board  of  directors  of  said  Association. 

Now  as  to  the  by-laws.  We  are  presenting  herewith  a 
model  which  combines  features  of  the  model  recommended 
by  the  Wisconsin  Board  of  Public  Affairs  with  some  fea- 
tures of  the  by-laws  of  the  Catawba  Co-operative  Creamery. 
These  sections  may  be  amended  to  meet  the  wishes  of  any 
group  of  prospective  co-operators. 

Form  of  By-Laws  Based  on  Wisconsin  and  North  Carolina  Experience 

ARTICLE  I 
Membership 

Section  1.  The  membership  of  the  Association  shall  be  confined,  as 
far  as  possible,  to  actual  farmers.  Not  more  than  40  per  cent  of  the 
stock  shall  be  sold  to  those  whose  main  interest  is  other  than  farming. 

Sec.  2.  The  Association  reserves  the  right  of  buying  in  any  share  of 
stock  which  is  for  sale,  and  of  passing  on  the  acceptability  of  any 
applicant  for  membership. 

Sec.  3.  All  shares  must,  before  issue,  be  registered  on  the  books  of 
tl  .  Association,  and  the  purchaser  by  the  acceptance  thereof  agrees  to 
all  the  by-laws  and  rules  of  the  Association,  including  also  all  amend- 
ments that  may  be  legally  adopted,  and  thereby  shall  become  a  mem- 
ber of  the  company.  No  shares  can  be  transferred  until  all  claims 
of  this  company  against  the  owner  of  such  shares  have  been  paid. 

Sec  4.  If  any  member  of  the  Association  desires  to  dispose  of  his 
share  or  shares,  he  shall  first  offer  to  sell  same  to  the  company  at  mar- 
ket value;  if  company  declines  to  purchase,  the  purchaser  may  find  a 
purchaser  acceptable  to  the  company  and  have  same  transferred  to  said 


I  APPENDIX  225 

purchaser  on  the  books  of  the  company  in  accordance  with  the 
rules.  If  a  member  removes  from  the  territory  and  ceases  to  be  a 
patron  of  the  Association  and  estabHshes  a  residence  elsewhere,  the 
board  of  directors  shall  purchase  the  share  or  shares  owned  by  the  said 
non-resident  member.  Sections  three  (3)  and  four  (4)  of  this  article 
shall  be  printed  on  each  and  every  certificate  of  stock  issued  by  the 
company. 

Sec.  5.     Each  member  shall  be  entitled  to  one  vote  only. 

Sec.  6.  No  member  shall  be  entitled  to  own  more  than  10  per  cent 
of  the  capital  stock. 

ARTICLE  II 

Board  of  Directors 

Section  1.    The  board  of  directors  shall  consist  of  five  members. 

Sec.  2.  They  shall  be  selected  by  and  from  among  the  stockholders 
at  the  annual  meeting,  and  shall  serve  until  their  successors  are  duly 
elected  and  qualified.  Of  the  directors  elected  upon  the  completion  of 
the  organization  two  shall  serve  one  year,  two  two  years,  and  one  three 
5rears.  The  regular  term  of  office  of  the  directors  shall  be  three  years. 
If  vacancies  occur  in  the  board  the  same  shall  be  filled  by  the  remain- 
ing directors  until  the  next  annual  election.  Immediately  after  the 
election  of  the  directors,  the  newly  elected  board  of  directors  shall  meet 
for  organization  and  the  election  of  officers. 

Sec.  3.  The  board  of  directors  shall  have  the  management  and  con- 
trol of  the  business  of  the  corporation  and  shall  employ  such  agents  as 
they  may  deem  advisable  and  fix  the  rate  of  compensation  of  all  officers 
and  employees. 

Sec.  4.  The  board  of  directors  shall  decide  what  bonds  shall  be  re- 
quired of  officers  and  shall  audit  the  accounts  of  the  Association  at  least 
once  every  quarter. 

Sec.  5.  The  board  of  directors  shall  meet  on  the  first  of  each  month 
and  be  subject  to  a  call  for  special  meetings  at  such  times  as  the  presi- 
dent or  secretary  shall  deem  necessary. 

Sec.  6.  A  majority  of  the  directors  shall  constitute  a  quorum  of  the 
board. 

Sec.  7.  No  member  of  the  board  of  directors  shall  be  allowed  to 
vote  on  any  question  in  which  he  may  have  any  personal  interest  con- 
flicting with  the  interests  of  the  Association  as  a  whole. 

ARTICLE  III 

Officers 
Section  1.  The  officers  of  the  corporation  shall  consist  of  president, 
vice-president,  secretary  and  treasurer.  The  office  of  secretary'  and 
treasurer  may  be  held  by  the  same  person.  The  officers  shall  be  elected 
by  the  board  of  directors  by  a  majority  vote  of  the  whole  number  of 
directors.  The  first  elections  shall  be  held  immediately  after  the  elec- 
tion of  the  board.  Subsequent  elections  shall  be  held  annually,  on  the 
day  of  the  first  regular  meeting  of  the  board  after  their  election,  the 
day  to  be  fixed  by  resolution  of  the  board  of  directors. 


226  APPENDIX 

Sec.  2.  In  case  of  death,  resignation  or  removal  of  any  officer,  the 
board  shall  elect  his  successor,  who  shall  hold  office  for  the  unexpired 
term. 

Sec.  3.  The  president  shall  preside  at  all  meetings  of  the  Associa- 
tion. He  shall  have  power  to  call  special  meetings  of  the  Association 
whenever,  in  his  judgment,  the  business  of  the  Association  shall  require 
it.  He  shall  also,  upon  a  written  request  of  10  per  cent  of  the  stock- 
holders or  three  members  of  the  board  of  directors,  call  a  special  meet- 
ing of  either  the  stockholders  or  directors  as  may  be  requested. 

Sec.  4.  The  vice-president  shall  perform  the  duties  of  the  president 
when  the  latter  is  absent  or  unable  to  perform  the  duties  of  his  office. 

Sec.  5.  The  secretary  shall  keep  a  record  of  the  proceedings  of  all 
meetings  held  by  the  stockholders  of  the  company,  and  also  of  all  meet- 
ings of  the  board  of  directors.  The  secretary  shall  keep  the  accounts 
of  the  company  and  use  such  system  therefor  as  is  adopted  by  the  board 
of  directors.  He  shall  file  all  receipts,  cashed  checks  and  records,  and 
write  all  checks  issued  by  the  company.  The  secretary,  by  authority 
of  the  president,  shall  sign  all  checks  issued  by  *he  company,  and  with 
the  president  sign  all  notes.  The  secretary  shall  present  to  the  board 
of  directors  at  their  monthly  meeting  a  statement  of  the  business  of 
the  company  for  the  previous  month.  He  shall  also  attend  the  annual 
meeting,  present  to  the  stockholders  a  complete  record  of  the  previous 
year's  business,  giving  an  itemized  statement  of  the  total  expenditures  and 
income  for  the  year  and  a  detailed  report  of  the  resources  and  liabili- 
ties of  the  company.  For  performing  such  duties,  the  secretary's  com- 
pensation shall  be  fixed  by  the  board  of  directors. 

Sec.  6.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  treasurer  to  take  care  of  the 
funds  of  the  company.  He  shall  make  a  monthly  report  to  the  board 
of  directors,  and  an  annual  report  to  the  stockholders  of  the  company. 

ARTICLE  IV 

Capital  Stock;  Stockholders'  Meetings 

Section  1.    The  capital  stock  of  this  Association  shall  be 

dollars,  which  shall  be  divided  into 

hundred  shares  of dollars  each,  which  shall  be 

paid  in  as  follows (or  at  such  times  and  in 

such  amounts  as  the  board  of  directors  may  determine),  and  may  be 
paid  either  in  cash,  property,  labor  or  securities,  as  the  board  of  direc- 
tors may  determine. 

Sec.  2.    The  stockholders  shall  meet  on  the 

of  the  month  of of  each  year,  and  at  such  other 

times  as  is  provided  in  Article  III,  Section  3. 

Sec.  3.  Thirty  per  cent  of  the  stockholders  in  number  shall  consti- 
tute a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of  business  at  any  regular  or  special 
meeting  of  the  stockholders. 

ARTICLE  V 
Apportionment  of  Earnings 
Section  1.    The  directors,  subject  to  revisions  by  the  Association,  at 


APPENDIX  227 

any  general  or  special  meeting,  shall  apportion  the  earnings  by  first 
paying  dividends  on  the  paid-up  capital  stock,  not  exceeding  6  (or  8) 
per  cent  per  annum.  Then  they  should  set  aside  not  less  than  10  per 
cent  of  the  net  profits  for  a  reserve  fund  until  an  amount  has  accumu- 
lated in  said  reserve  fund  equal  to  30  per  cent  of  the  paid-up  capital 
stock.  Then  the  remainder  of  said  net  profits  should  be  distributed  by 
uniform  dividend  upon  the  amount  of  purchases  made  by  shareholders, 
and  one-half  of  such  uniform  dividend  should  be  paid  non-shareholders 
on  the  amount  of  their  purchases. 

(Note. — This  half -rate  dividend  may  be  credited  to  the  account  of 
such  non-shareholders  on  account  of  capital  stock  of  the  Association. 
In  selling  agencies,  such  as  fruit,  truck,  peanut  and  cotton  growers' 
associations,  and  in  productive  associations  such  as  creameries,  can- 
neries, warehouses,  factories  and  the  like,  dividends  should  be  pro- 
rated according  to  the  raw  material  delivered  instead  of  on  goods  pur- 
chased. In  case  the  Association  is  both  a  selling  and  a  productive 
concern,  the  dividends  may  be  on  both  raw  material  delivered  and  on 
goods  purchased  by  patrons.) 

ARTICLE  VI 

Sale  of  Products 
Section  1.  This  organization  shall  have  the  exclusive  and  un- 
qualified power  to  market  those  products  of  its  members  which  the 
Association  was  formed  to  sell ;  provided,  if  a  competitor  raises  the 
price  of  farm  products  above  that  which  the  Association  gives,  any 
stockholder  may  have  the  right  to  sell  his  products  through  an  outside 
agency,  provided  he  pays  his  proper  proportion  of  the  running  ex- 
penses to  the  Association,  as  required  by  rules  fixed  by  the  stockholders 
or  directors.  This  sum  should  not  exceed  5  per  cent  of  the  value  of 
products  so  sold  to  a  competing  concern. 

ARTICLE  VII 

Amendments  to  By-Laws 

Section  1.  These  by-laws  may  be  altered  or  amended  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote  of  the  members  present  at  any  regular  annual  meeting  or 
any  special  meeting  called  for  that  purpose.  In  the  latter  case,  ten 
days'  notice  thereof  shall  have  been  given  to  all  the  members  previous 
to  the  time  of  voting  thereon. 

Sec.  2.  Whenever,  in  the  opinion  of  the  board  of  directors,  a  change 
in  the  rules  and  regulations  is  necessary,  they  shall  have  power  to  in- 
itiate such  change  and  refer  it  to  the  shareholders  for  final  action. 

ARTICLE  VIII 

Order  of  Business 

1.  Call  to  order. 

2.  Roll-call  of  officers. 

3.  Reading  minutes  of  last  meeting. 

4.  Reports  of  officers. 


228  APPENDIX 

5.  Reports  of  committees. 

6.  Report  of  education  committee. 

7.  Reports  of  managers. 

8.  Communications  and  bills. 

9.  Grievances  and  complaints. 

10.  Consideration  of  reports. 

11.  Election  of  officers. 

12.  Filling  vacancies. 

13.  Appointing  committees. 

14.  Unfinished  business. 

15.  New  business. 

16.  Good  of  the  company. 

17.  Sign  minutes. 

18.  Adjournment 

We  are  also  glad  to  give  herewith  another  form  of  by- 
laws which,  out  of  a  large  number  considered  by  him,  has 
won  the  especial  commendation  of  so  good  an  authority  as 
Dr.  John  Lee  Coulter  (see  Chapter  VII).  It  will  be  well 
for  a  group  of  co-operators  to  examine  both  forms  here 
presented,  picking  the  best  ideas  from  each,  and  then  amend 
in  any  particular  to  suit  local  conditions.  The  model  form 
selected  by  Dr.  Coulter  is  that  of  the  Lakefield  (Minn.) 
Farmers'  Co-operative  Elevator  Company,  and  reads  as 
follows : 


Constitution  and  By-Laws 

ARTICLE  I 

Section  1.  The  officers  of  this  corporation  shall  consist  of  a  presi- 
dent, vice-president,  secretary  and  treasurer,  who  shall  be  elected  by 
the  directors  and  who  shall  perform  the  duties  usually  appertaining  to 
their  respective  offices.  Said  officers  shall  hold  office  for  one  year,  and 
until  their  successors  are  elected  and  q  alified. 

Sec.  2.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  the  office  of  president,  vice- 
president  or  treasurer  who  is  not  a  director;  and  no  person  shall  be 
eligible  to  the  office  of  director  who  is  not  a  stockholder.  A  president, 
vice-president,  treasurer,  secretary  or  director  who  ceases  at  any  tirne 
to  be  a  stockholder  shall  at  the  same  time  cease  to  hold  any  office  in 
this  corporation. 

Sec.  3.  The  board  of  directors  may  by  resolution  require  any  and 
all  of  the  general  officers  and  agents  of  this  corporation  to  give  a  bond 
to  the  corporation  with  sufficient  securities  conditioned  for  the  faithful 
performance  of  the  duties  of  their  respective  offices  and  such  other  con- 


APPENDIX  229 

ditions  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  required  by  the  board  of  directors. 
Sec.  4.     All  written  contracts   entered  into  in  behalf  of  this  cor- 
poration shall  be  signed  by  the  president  and  secretary,  and  the  cor- 
porate seal  shall  be  attached  thereto. 


ARTICLE  II 
Directors  and  Their  Duties 

Section  1.  The  affairs  of  this  corporation  shall  be  managed  by  a 
board  of  nine  directors,  who  shall  be  elected  by  the  stockholders  at  the 
regular  annual  meeting,  and  who  shall  hold  office  for  one  year  and  until 
their  successors  are  elected. 

Sec.  2.  The  directors  shall  elect  all  the  officers  of  the  corporation 
and  appoint  all  its  agents.  Vacancies  in  the  board  of  directors  may  be 
filled  by  the  remaining  members  of  the  board  at  any  regular  or  special 
meeting  of  the  board. 

Sec.  3.  The  regular  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  shall  be  held 
immediately  after  the  adjournment  of  each  regular  annual  meeting  of 
the  stockholders,  and  also  upon  call  of  the  president  or  secretary  upon 
one  (1)  day's  notice,  either  orally  or  in  writing.  Such  meeting  shall  be 
held  at  the  general  office  of  the  corporation. 

Sec.  4.  Special  meetings  of  the  board  of  directors  may  be  called  at 
any  time  by  the  president  or  secretary  by  giving  to  each  director  a 
written  or  oral  notice,  either  orally  or  in  writing,  at  least  one  day 
before  the  time  of  such  meeting. 

Sec.  5.  At  all  regular  or  special  meetings  of  the  board  of  directors 
a  majority  of  the  board  shall  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transaction 
of  business,  but  a  smaller  number  may  adjourn  the  meeting  to  another 
day  or  hour. 

Sec.  6.  At  each  regular  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders,  the 
board  of  directors  shall  present  a  general  statement  or  report  of  the 
business  of  the  preceding  year,  and  of  the  financial  condition  of  the 
corporation. 

ARTICLE  III 
Regulations  Concerning  Stock 

Section  1.  The  capital  stock  of  this  corporation  shall  be  divided 
into  1,000  shares  of  the  value  of  fifty  ($50)   dollars  each. 

Sec.  2.  All  certificates  shall  be  signed  by  the  president  and  secre- 
tary and  the  corporate  seal  shall  be  attached  thereto. 

Sec.  3.  Shares  of  the  capital  stock  shall  be  transferred  by  indorse- 
ment of  the  certificate,  and  its  surrender  to  the  secretary  for  cancella- 
tion, and  such  transfer  approved  by  the  board  of  directors,  whereupon 
a  new  certificate  shall  be  issued  to  the  transferee.  The  board  of  direc- 
tors may  by  resolution  forbid  the  transfer  of  stock  for  a  space  of  time 
not  exceeding  thirty  (30)  days  immediately  before  the  meeting  of  the 
stockholders  or  immediately  before  the  time  a  dividend  is  payable. 
Provided,  that  in  no  event  shall  any  stock  be  transferred  until  any  and 


230  APPENDIX 

all  indebtedness  owing  by  such  stockholder  to  this  corporation  shall 
have  been  paid. 

Sec.  4.  No  stock  shall  be  issued  to  any  other  person  than  a  prac- 
tical farmer,  said  practical  farmer  shall  be  defined  as  one  who  makes 
his  living  by  farming,  or  one  who  has  ceased  farming  and  is  not  en- 
gaged in  any  other  business  that  will  conflict  in  any  way  with  the  busi- 
ness carried  on  by  this  corporation.  No  person  can  own  more  than 
three  (.3)  shares  of  capital  stock. 

Sec.  5.  There  shall  be  no  assessment  levied  at  any  time  unless  at  a 
regular  or  special  meeting  of  the  stockholders,  and  no  assessment  can 
be  levied  at  any  regular  or  special  meeting  of  stockholders  unless  each 
stockholder  has  been  duly  notified  by  a  written  notice  thereof  ten  (10) 
days  prior  to  such  regular  or  special  meeting  at  which  time  an  assess- 
ment shall  be  levied. 

Sec.  6.  Any  stockholder  who  shall  fail  to  pay  any  assessment  levied 
on  his  stock  for  thirty  (30)  days  after  the  same  shall  be  due  shall 
be  served  by  a  written  or  printed  notice  by  the  secretary,  personally, 
or  by  registered  letter  through  the  United  States  mail.  Such  notice 
shall  state  the  amount  due  from  such  stockholder,  and  shall  notify  him 
that  unless  he  pays  the  same  within  thirty  (30)  days  after  the  service 
of  such  notice  his  stock  shall  be  forfeited. 

If  the  delinquent  stockholder  fails  to  pay  the  entire  amount  due  from 
him  within  the  time  specified  in  such  notice,  his  stock  shall  become  for- 
feited without  further  notice  on  the  part  of  the  corporation,  and  such 
forfeited  stock  may  thereupon,  without  further  notice,  be  sold  by  the 
secretary  for  the  benefit  of  the  corporation,  at  either  public  or  private 
sale,  provided,  that  the  proceeds  of  such  sale,  if  any  over  and  above  the 
amount  due  on  said  stock,  shall  be  paid  on  demand  to  the  delinquent 
stockholder. 

ARTICLE  IV 
Stockholders'  Meetings 

Section  1.  The  regular  annual  meeting  of  the  stockholders  of  this 
corporation  shall  be  held  in  the  general  office  of  this  corporation  in 
Lakefield,  Minn.,  on  the  last  Saturday  of  June  in  each  year  at  the  hour 
of  10  o'clock  a.  m.  Special  meetings  of  the  stockholders  may  be  called 
by  the  board  of  directors. 

Sec.  2.  The  secretary  shall  mail  to  each  stockholder  at  his  known 
place  of  residence  a  written  or  printed  notice  of  the  time  and  the  place 
of  holding  every  annual  and  special  stockholders'  meeting.  Such 
notice  shall  be  mailed  at  least  ten  (10)  days  before  the  time  at  which 
the  meeting  is  to  be  held. 

Sec.  3.  At  all  meetings  of  the  stockholders,  each  stockholder  shall 
be  entitled  to  cast  one  vote  for  each  share  of  stock  owned  by  him 
regardless  of  the  number  of  shares  of  stock  owned.  He  may  vote  in 
person  or  by  proxy,  but  such  proxy  shall  be  a  stockholder,  the  appoint- 
ment being  made  in  writing  and  duly  filed  with  the  secretary  and  by 
him  entered  upon  the  records  of  the  proceedings  of  the  meeting. 

Sec.  4.    At  any  stockholders'  meeting  a  majority  of  the  stock  must 


APPENDIX  231 

be  represented  in  order  to  constitute  a  quorum  for  the  transaction  of 
business,  but  the  stockholders  present  at  any  meeting,  although  less 
than  a  quorum,  may  adjourn  the  meeting  to  some  other  day  or  hour. 
Sec.  5.  The  president  and  secretary  of  the  corporation  shall  act  as 
president  and  secretary  of  each  stockholders'  meeting  unless  the  meet- 
ing shall  otherwise  decide.  Any  stockholders'  meeting  may  at  any  time 
elect  a  president  and  secretary  of  the  meeting  and  thereupon  the  presi- 
dent and  secretary  of  the  corporation  shall  no  longer  act  as  president 
and  secretary  of  said  meeting. 

ARTICLE  V 
Amendments 
Section  1.    These  by-laws,  or  any  of  them,  naay  be  altered,  amended, 
added  to  or  repealed  at  any  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors. 

ARTICLE  VI 
Assessments  and  Penalties 

Section  1.  Assessments  for  the  payment  of  agents*  or  employees* 
salaries,  or  other  expenses  connected  with  the  business  of  this  cor- 
poration, or  for  the  purpose  of  increasing  available  funds  on  hand,  or 
to  cover  any  deficit  in  the  treasury  of  the  corporation,  shall  be  made 
upon  the  several  stockholders  in  proportion  and  pro  rata  upon  the 
stock  held  or  owned  by  each  stockholder. 

Sec.  2.  Any  stockholder  who  shall  at  any  time  while  a  member  of 
this  corporation,  sell  or  dispose  of  to  any  dealer  or  elevator  company 
other  than  this  corporation,  any  grain  or  seeds  of  any  kind,  or  who  shall 
deliver  to  the  other  dealers  or  elevator  companies  for  shipment  to 
terminal  markets,  any  grain  or  seeds  of  any,  kind,  shall  pay  to  his 
corporation  an  assessment  and  penalty  of  one  cent  per  bushel  for  each 
and  every  bushel  of  grain  so  sold  or  disposed  of  to  other  dealers  or 
elevator  companies,  or  shipped  through  other  dealers  or  elevator  com- 
panies, which  sum  shall  become  due  and  payable  forthwith,  when  the 
buyer  or  secretary  or  directors  of  this  corporation  shall  receive  notice 
or  be  apprised  of  the  amount  of  grain  or  seeds  so  shipped  or  disposed 
of  through  other  dealers.  And  in  case  of  the  refusal  or  failure  to  pay 
said  sum  then  due  for  such  sale  or  shipment  as  aforesaid,  to  this 
corporation  upon  demand,  by  the  buyer  or  agent  of  this  corporation  to 
the  secretary,  then,  in  such  case,  the  secretary  of  this  corporation  is 
hereby  authorized  and  fully  empowered  to  levy  an  assessment  and  pen- 
alty against  such  delinquent  stockholder,  said  levy  to  be  made  under 
the  direction  of  the  board  of  directors  at  any  general  or  special  meet- 
ing of  the  board ;  said  levy  and  assessments  to  be  made  on  the  basis 
of  two  cents  per  bushel  for  all  grain  or  seeds  so  sold,  disposed  of  or 
shipped  to  or  through  other  dealers  or  elevator  companies  and  said 
assessment  and  penalty  shall  be  enforced  against  such  delinquent 
stockholder,  and  the  collection  of  the  same  shall  be  made  in  a  manner 
provided  for  the  collection  of  assessment  and  penalties  under  Section 
six    (6)   of  Article  three    (3)    of   these  by-laws,  and  said  deHnquent 


22)2  APPENDIX 

Stockholder's  stock  shall  be  sold  and  disposed  of  for  the  purpose  of 
enforcing  the  collection  of  such  assessment  as  therein  provided  in  said 
Section  six  (6) of  Article  three  (3). 

Amendments  Adopted 

Amendment  to  Article  one  (l),  Section  three  (3)  of  the  by-laws 
was  adopted  December  16,  1905. 

The  president,  vice-president,  secretary,  treasurer  and  manager  shall 
each  give  a  bond  to  the  corporation  with  sufficient  securities  conditioned 
for  the  faithful  performance  of  the  duties  of  their  respective  positions 
and  such  other  duties  as  may  from  time  to  time  be  imposed  upon  them 
by  the  board  of  directors.  The  minimum  amount  of  such  bond  shall  be 
as  follows :  President,  $1,000 ;  vice-president,  $1,000 ;  secretary,  $1,000 ; 
treasurer,  $2,000;  manager,  $2,000.  The  board  of  directors  may  by 
resolution  require  from  said  officers,  or  any  of  them,  a  bond  in  such 
additional  amounts  as  the  board  of  directors  may  from  time  to  time 
deem  necessary. 

By-Law  Added  July  lo,  igog 

In  case  of  the  removal  of  a  stockholder  from  the  trading  territory 
of  this  corporation,  the  board  of  directors  are  hereby  authorized  to 
return  to  such  stockholder  all  moneys  and  property  received  by  such 
corporation  for  such  share  or  shares  of  stock  held  by  such  stock- 
holder, upon  proper  surrender  by  such  stockholder  of  such  share  or 
shares  of  stock;  provided,  however,  that  this  provision  shall  be  sub- 
ject to  the  general  laws  of  the  state  governing  corporations. 

At  the  end  of  each  fiscal  year,  the  board  of  directors  shall  distribute 
the  net  profits,  after  all  operating  and  other  expenses  are  paid,  as  fol- 
lows, and  in  the  order  following : 

1.  A  dividend  equal  to  the  current  rate  of  interest,  but  not  to  exceed 
8  per  cent,  shall  be  paid  upon  the  capital  stock  of  the  corporation  if 
there  are  sufficient  profits  for  this  purpose,  otherwise  pro  rata. 

2.  Out  of  the  balance  of  such  net  profits,  if  any  there  be,  an  amount, 
not  less  than  5  per  cent  of  such  profits,  shall  be  set  over  to  the  reserve 
fund,  until  such  reserve  fund  shall  equal  the  amount  required  by  law; 
thereafter,  such  amount  annually  as  the  board  of  directors  shall  de- 
termine. 

3.  The  balance  of  the  net  profits,  if  any,  shall  be  distributed  to  the 
patrons  of  the  corporation  as  follows : 

To  stockholding  patrons,  upon  the  sales  to  and  purchases  from  the 
corporation,  in  proportion  to  the  said  sales  and  purchases  for  the  pre- 
ceding year.  .  r  .    ,r 

To  non-stockholding  patrons  of  the  corporation  at  a  rate  of  one-halt 
that  applied  to  stockholding  patrons,  and  only  upon  the  amount  of  pur- 
chases from  the  corporation,  in  proportion  to  the  amount  of  such  pur- 
chases for  the  preceding  year. 


REGULATIONS  FOR  A  CO-OPERATIVE  STORE 

The  Willmar  (Minn.)  Co-operative  Mercantile  Company, 
mentioned  in  our  chapter  on  the  Svea  community,  also  has 
some  interesting  regulations.  One  of  them  reads  as  fol- 
lows: 

"Section  2.  The  absence  of  a  director,  officer  or  committeeman 
from  three  successive  regular  meetings  shall  be  deemed  a  resignation, 
unless  such  absence  is  decided  unavoidable  by  a  concurrence  of  a  ma- 
jority of  such  body.  The  acceptance  by  any  director  of  the  manager- 
ship or  any  other  position  in  the  company  shall  constitute  a  resigna- 
tion of  such  director.  The  board  of  directors  shall  proceed  to  fill  such 
vacancy  until  next  regular  meeting  of  the  company." 

The  following  sections  on  "Manner  of  Conducting  Busi- 
ness" are  also  instructive : 

Section  1.  Produce  or  labor  will  be  taken  In  exchange  for  goods, 
at  net  cash  value  and  will  be  considered  cash. 

Sec.  2.     Goods  shall  be  sold  at  ordinary  market  price. 

Sec.  3.  A  record  shall  be  kept  of  all  the  purchases  of  members  and 
resident  non-members,  and  every  non-member  patron  shall  be  paid  one- 
half  as  much  percentage  of  purchase  dividend  as  members. 

Sec.  4.  Dividends  on  purchases  will  be  paid  only  on  duplicate  sales 
slips  returned  each  month  on  or  before  January  first  of  the  current 
year,  and  in  compliance  with  the  following  conditions : 

(a)  The  name  of  the  member,  the  date  of  purchase  and  the  sales- 
man's initials  or  number  must  be  written  by  the  clerk  on  the  sales  slip 
at  time  of  purchase. 

(b)  Each  member  shall  arrange  his  sales  slips  in  chronological 
order,  and  shall  on  a  separate  sheet  write  in  ink  the  amount  of  each 
slip  in  said  order  in  columns  and  shall  add  the  same. 

(c)  He  shall  then  tie  the  sales  slips  and  the  statement  sheet  together 
in  a  compact  form,  and  on  the  outside  write  his  name  in  ink  and  the 
total  amount  of  purchases  on  which  he  is  entitled  to  draw  dividends. 

(d)  No  dividend  will  be  paid  on  slips  marked  NET,  and  all  goods 
sold  for  less  than  5  per  cent  gross  profit  shall  be  so  marked,  nor  on 
slips  dated  more  than  six  months  prior  to  the  closing  fiscal  dividend 
period. 

Sec.  5.  The  company  may  permit  deserving  persons  to  subscribe 
for  shares,  and  to  pay  for  same  on  the  installment  plan,  but  such  per- 
sons must  sign  notes  specifying  times  of  payment.    AH  dividends  to  be 

233 


'234  APPENDIX 

credited  on  said  notes,  toward  the  payment  of  the  stock  subscribed  for, 
until  the  member  has  fully  paid  said  notes,  and  all  other  indebtedness 
to  the  company. 

Sec.  6.  Ten  per  cent  of  the  members  shall  have  the  right  to  initiate 
any  measure  or  policy  that  they  see  fit,  and  when  such  number  of  mem- 
bers shall  present  a  desired  measure  to  the  board  the  latter  shall  refer 
the  same  to  the  stockholders  for  final  action  by  referendum. 

Sec.  7.  Annually,  as  soon  as  possible  after  the  end  of  the  fiscal 
year,  after  paying  the  expenses  of  the  company  and  the  management 
thereof,  including  4  per  cent  per  annum  deducted  from  the  value  of 
fixtures  and  3  rv;r  cent  per  annum  from  the  value  of  buildings,  the  net 
profits  of  the  one  year  preceding  shall  be  divided  as  follows : 

(a)  On  all  shares  of  capital  stock  of  this  company  subscribed  and 

settled  for,  a  capital  stock  dividend  at  the  rate  of per  cent  per 

annum  shall  be  allowed,  but  in  no  case  is  this  dividend  to  exceed  the 
net  profits  of  such  year. 

(b)  Then  the  board  of  directors  shall  set  aside  the  following  sums 
to  the  following  funds  out  of  the  remaining  net  profits  of  such  year; 
5  per  cent  to  the  educational  fund  and  not  less  than  10  per  cent  to  the 
reserve  fund;  then  the  board  shall  apportion  the  balance  of  the  net 
total  sum  proifits  of  such  half  year  among  all  the  members  and  patrons 
according  to  the  amount  of  their  individual  patronage.  (See  Sections 
3,  4  and  5,  Article  XI.) 


BY-LAWS  OF  A  FARMERS'  CLUB 

Mr.  A.  D.  Wilson  of  the  Minnesota  Agricultural  Station 
and  St.  Paul  Farmer,  under  whose  direction  hundreds  of 
farmers'  clubs  have  been  organized  in  the  Northwest,  sug- 
gests the  following  form  of  constitution  and  by-laws,  which 
may  also  be  varied  to  suit  the  wishes  of  members : 

Model  Constitution 

ARTICLE  I 
This  Club  shall  be  known  as  the  "Farmers'  Qub  of ." 


ARTICLE  II 

Its  purpose  shall  be  to  further  the  material  and  social  interests  of  its 

members  in  particular,  and  of  the  people  of ,  and  the  vicinity 

in  general. 

ARTICLE  III 

Its  general  officers  shall  be  a  president,  \'ice-president,  a  secretary 
and  a  treasurer. 

ARTICLE  IV 

Any  person  may  become  a  member  upon  receiving  a  two-thirds  vote 
at  any  regular  meeting,  and  paying  one  year's  dues  in  advance. 

ARTICLE  V 

This  constitution  may  be  amended  at  any  regular  meeting  by  a  two- 
thirds  vote,  upon  one  month's  written  notice, 

By-Laws 

Section  l.  The  duties  of  each  officer  named  in  the  constitution 
shall  be  such  as  usually  pertain  to  his  position. 

Sec.  2.  All  other  duties  shall  be  performed  by  an  executive  com- 
mittee of  three,  which  shall  be  appointed  by  the  president  annually  upon 
his  assuming  office. 

Sec  3.  The  annual  dues  shall  be  one  dollar  ($1.00),  payable  in 
advance. 

235 


236  APPENDIX 

Sec.  4.  Regular  meetings  shall  be  held  on  the  first  Saturday  of  each 
month,  and  special  meetings  may  be  called  at  any  time  by  the  president, 
with  the  approval  of  a  majority  of  the  executive  committee. 

Sec.  5.  The  Club  shall  not  engage  in  any  commercial  transactions, 
but  shall  aid  and  further  business  associations  among  its  members; 
particularly  such  associations  as  pertain  to  the  purchase  of  necessary 
supplies,  and  the  purchase,  sale  and  management  of  stock  and  agricul- 
tural and  garden  products.  .  ■,  ,    ,, 

Sec.  6.  From  time  to  time  it  shall  give  entertamments  and  hold 
meetings,  under  direction  of  the  executive  committee,  for  the  benefit 
of  its  members  and  of  those  vi^hom  they  may  invite  to  meet  with  them. 

Sec.  7.  The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  be  elected  annually  at 
the  first  regular  meeting  in  the  fall  and  hold  their  offices  until  their 
successors  are  duly  elected  and  qualified.  ,     ^,  ,   ,  •     • 

Sec.  8.  Any  member  may  be  exnelled  from  the  Club  by  a  majority 
vote  at  any  meeting  without  a  refund  of  dues. 

Sec.  9.  These  by-laws  may  be  amended  at  any  regular  meeting  by  a 
majority  vote  upon  a  one  month's  written  notice. 


i 


PARLIAMENTARY  RULES 

Rules  Which  Should  Be  Observed  in  Conducting  Meetings  of  Farmers' 
Clubs,  Fo-'.y*  Women's  Clubs,  Co-operative  Societies,  etc. 

In  the  absence  of  a  president,  the  vice-president  presides ;  in  the 
absence  of  both,  the  secretary;  or,  in  his  absence,  any  other  officer;  or, 
in  the  absence  of  all  officers,  any  member  may  preside  during  election 
of  president  pro  tempore. 

A  point  of  order  may  be  raised  at  any  stage  of  the  proceedings,  and 
shall  be  decided  by  the  chairman  without  debate.  The  decision  of  the 
chairman  may  be  appealed  from,  but  such  appeal  may  be  sustained  only 
by  a  two-thirds  vote  of  members  present.  The  chairman  may  submit 
a  point  of  order  to  the  body,  in  which  case  a  majority  vote  decides. 

When  the  previous  question  is  called  for,  it  should  be  put  in  this 
form  by  the  chairman,  and  decided  without  debate:  "Shall  the  main 
question  be  now  put?"  If  carried,  and  an  amendment  is  pending,  the 
chairman  should  then  first  put  the  amendment.  The  chairman  should 
then  put  the  main  question,  as  amended  (if  amended)  ;  all  should  be 
decided  without  debate. 

Pending  motion  for  the  previous  question,  or  after  it  has  been 
ordered,  the  chairman  may  entertain  a  motion  to  refer  to  a  standing 
or  a  special  committee. 

It  is  a  breach  of  order  for  the  chairman  to  refuse  to  put  a  question 
that  is  in  order. 

A  member  desiring  to  speak  should  arise  and  address  the  chairman, 
and  should  not  proceed  until  recognized.  The  chairman  should  recog- 
nize the  member  who  first  addressed  him.  The  member  recognized 
has  the  floor. 

No  member  when  speaking  should  be  interrupted  without  his  con- 
sent. To  obtain  consent,  the  chairman  should  first  be  addressed — as 
for  example:  "Mr.  Chairman,  will  the  brother  permit  a  question?" 
or  "statement"  or  "an  interruption,"  etc. 

No  member  should  attempt  to  speak  more  than  once  upon  the  same 
question  without  permission  of  the  body,  which  should  be  determined 
without  debate. 

Any  member  who  in  debate  transgresses  rules  should  be  called  to 
order  by  the  chairman,  or  any  member  may  call  him  to  order.  He 
should  not  proceed  without  permission,  which  should  be  determined 
without  debate. 

A  special  order  is  consideration  of  a  given  question  at  a  time  cer- 
tain. Any  member  may  insist  upon  compliance  with  a  special  order.  A 
motion  to  change  or  postpone  a  special  order  should  be  decided  without 
debate. 

If  a  question  in  debate  contain  several  points  or  conditions,  any 
member   may   call   for   a   division — that   is,    a   consideration   of    each 

237 


238  APPENDIX 

proposition  separately.    The  points  of  difference  must  be  so  distinct 
that  one  being  taken  away  the  other  will  stand  as  a  definite  proposition. 

When  the  result  of  a  vote  is  in  doubt,  and  a  division  is  called  for,  it 
may  be  determined  by  a  rising  vote — first,  the  "ayes,"  then  the  "noes." 

A  question  of  privilege  arising  from  a  dispute  between  members, 
or  for  other  cause,  must  be  disposed  of  before  the  original  question. 

The  mover  of  a  question,  or  the  member  making  a  committee  report, 
has  the  privilege  of  closing  debate  upon  the  question. 

If  any  part  or  point  of  an  amendment  is  subject  to  a  point  of  order, 
the  entire  amendment  is  out  of  order. 

No  motion  is  in  possession  of  the  body  until  duly  seconded.  The 
mover  of  a  motion  may,  without  consent  of  his  second,  withdraw  it; 
provided,  the  meeting  may  refuse  this  permission. 

A  motion  may  be  reduced  to  writing  on  demand  of  any  member. 

No  dilatory  motion  should  be  entertained  by  the  chairman. 

When  motions  are  pending  to  refer  a  question  to  a  special  or  stand- 
ing committee,  the  vote  shall  be  first  upon  reference  to  a  standing  com- 
mittee; if  upon  different  dates  for  specific  purpose,  the  vote  should  be 
first  upon  date  most  remote;  if  upon  appropriations  for  a  purpose,  on 
different  amounts,  the  vote  should  first  be  upon  the  largest  amount. 

A  motion  to  reconsider  a  question  is  decided  by  a  majority  vote.  If 
a  majority  refuse  to  reconsider,  a  second  motion  to  reconsider  can  only 
be  entertained  by  unanimous  consent. 

A  motion  or  resolution  referred  to  a  committee  cannot  be  brought 
back  by  a  motion  to  reconsider. 

An  amendment  to  a  pending  motion  is  in  order,  an  amendment  to  an 
amendment  is  in  order,  but  an  amendment  to  an  amendment  of  an 
amendment  cannot  be  entertained.  A  substitute  to  an  amended  amend- 
ment is  in  order,  and  one  amendment  to  the  substitute  may  be  enter- 
tained. 

When  a  question  is  pending,  only  the  following  motions  are  in 
order : 

(1.)  To  adjourn. 

(2.)  To  lay  on  the  table. 

^3.)  The  previous  question. 

(4.)  To  postpone  to  a  time  certain. 

(5.)  To  refer  or  commit  (synonymous  terms). 

(6.)  To  postpone  indefinitely. 

Tliese  motions  have  precedence  in  the  order  given,  and  the  motions 
to  adjourn,  to  lay  on  the  table,  and  the  previous  question,  are  not 
debatable. 

A  motion  to  adjourn  when  another  member  is  on  the  floor  is  out  of 
order;  but  a  member  may  yield  the  floor  to  another  for  the  purpose 
of  making  a  motion  to  adjourn. 

Points  not  covered  by  these  rules  are  to  be  decided  according  to 
Jefferson's  Manual. — From  Farmers'  Union  Constitution  and  By-Laws 


INDEX 


PAGE 

Absentee  landlords,  excess  tax  on 174 

Accident  insurance,  co-operative 183-184: 

Advertising,   co-operative   130-131 

Agriculture,  its  importance  to  the  State 187 

Amortization,  methods  of  payment  illustrated 49-50,  189-190 

Amendments  to  by-laws 227,  235-236 

Arbitrating  disputes 15,  71,  184 

Assessments  on  stock 230-231 

Auditing  books,  importance  of  careful 80,  87,  120,  146,  163,  218-219 

Bacon  factories,  Danish 189,  191,  192,  201 

Baking,  co-operative 213 

Banks,  agricultural  155-163 

Barrow,  Prof.  D.  N.,  assists  the  author 5 

Berry  growers,  co-operative  selling 90-94 

Bonding   officers 225,   228,   231-233 

Borrow  money  instead  of  pay  "time  prices" 43-45 

Boys,   developing  through  co-operative  business 152-153 

Brands,  importance  of  making  a  reputation  for — 115,  118,  151,  214-215 

Branson,  E.  C,  quoted 24 

Breaking  rules,  how  to  deal  with  members 92-93,  121,  139,  205 

Building  and  loan  association,  rural 126-127 

Business  management  of  co-operative  enterprises 123-125,  135 

Butter  prices,  country  vs.  creamery 77,  124,  152,  198 

Buying   co-operatively 10-37,  135,  215-216 

Advantages  of  large  orders 42-43 

Suggested  prizes  for  farmers'  clubs 59-60 

Buying  out  old  enterprises  instead  of  starting  new 26,  38,  39,  71,  80,    86 

By-laws 72,  223-236 

California,  co-operative  marketing  of  oranges,  eta 130-136 

Called  meetings 226,  229 

Camp,  Prof.  Wm.  R.,  assists  the  author 5,    72 

Capital  stock  in  various  enterprises— 73,  87,  91,  96,  114,  120,  124,  136 

157,  160,  164,  195,  204,  225-226,  229 
Cash  system  urged  for  co-operative  societies 16,  39,    70 

239 


240  INDEX 

Cash  system  urged  for  individual  farmers 43-45 

Catawba  County,  N.  C. 123-129 

Cheese  making,  how  co-operation  saved  Wisconsin  farmers  enor- 
mous profits 97-98 

CleanHness  enforced  in  dairying 198-199 

Citrus  fruit,  co-operative  marketing  of 130-136 

City  vs.  country 30-31 

City  stores  should  sell  cheaper  to  farmers,  etc 41-42 

Clover  hulling  co-operatively 66 

CoUingwood,  H.  W.,  quoted 66 

Committees  for  farmers'  clubs 31-32,    35 

Community  spirit  needed  30-31 

Competition,  unfair,  how  to  meet  it 88,  89,  92,  121,  196-197,  227,  231 

Contracts,  necessity  for  legal,  binding  forms 71,  92-93,  195-197,  220 

Co-operation  vs.  capitalism 21-22,  176 

Co-operation  defined 23,    28 

Co-operation,  five  needed  lines 24 

Thirteen   rules    70-71 

Co-operation,  how  to  start 26 

Co-operation  insures  reward  for  quality 198 

Co-operation    means   threefold    profits 191,  220 

Co-operation,  rapid  growth  in  Northwest 95 

Co-operative  societies,  number  in  Ireland 148,  151,  164-165 

Denmark 194,  201,  213 

Co-operative  stores  or  warehouses 37-47,     92 

Rules  for 39,  45-46,  233 

Dividends 39,  79,     82 

Svea  store 79-82,  86-87 

Cotton,  necessity  for  co-operative  marketing  and  selling 100-112 

An  example  of 137-141 

Cottonseed,   co-operative   marketing 64-65 

Need  for 109-110,  139,  140 

Coulter,  Dr.  John  Lee,  quoted 74,  228 

Creameries,  co-operative 13,  77,  94,  123-125,  151,  192,  194,    196-200 

Credit    unions    54,  155,  161-162,  217 

Cutting  prices,  bad  policy 70,  233 

Dairying,   co-operation   to  promote 192-193,  214 

Denmark,  rural  co-operation  in 186-220 

Depreciation  of  property,  allowance  should  be  made  for 234 

Difficulties  in   starting  co-operation 8,  149,  151 

Directors,  how  elected,  duties,  etc 125,  154,  204,  225,  228-229 

Directors,  when  they  shall  not  vote , 225 

Disaster  as  an  incentive  to  co-operation 178-179 


INDEX  241 

PAGE 

Distribution  of  products  regulated 115-116,  121,  131-134,  153 

Dividends  credited  on  stock  79,  233-234 

Eastern  Shore  of  Virginia  Produce  Exchange 113-122 

Economies  of  co-operation,  how  it  reduces  expense,  etc 41,  99,  111 

114.  150 

Education  as  an  aid  to  co-operation 83-84,  187-188,  207-212 

Educational  fund 71 

Egan,  M.  F.,  quoted 187-188,  190 

Egg  collecting  123-125,  153,  192,  204-205 

England,  co-operation  in  172-177 

Expensive  service  to  be  avoided 45-47 

Faith  in  people  a  necessity 9 

Farmers'  duty  to  mankind 25 

Farmers'  organizations :  Clubs,  Unions,  Granges,  etc.__29-36,  56,  62-63 

Farmers'  Union  29,  56-62,  188 

Federation  of  co-operative  soci\;ties 115,  122,  132,  135,  153,  176-177 

220 

Fees,  membership 86,  138,  156,  164 

Fertilizers  and  feedstuffs,  reduced  cost  through  co-operative  buy- 
ing     10,  45,  180-181 

Financing   co-operative    enterprises 87,  90-91,  195,  217 

Fines  or  punishment  for  violating  rules 92,  121,  139,  205 

"Finishing"  farm  products 12,  24-26 

Florida,  co-operative  marketing  of  oranges 130-131 

Folk  or  people's  high  schools  in  Denmark 207-212 

France,  co-operation  in 178-185 

Goddard,  L.  H.,  quoted  41-42,  45-46 

"Gombeen-men"   in   Ireland   149-150,  215 

Government  aid  to  agriculture,  Denmark 213-215 

Grading,  farmers  robbed  by  present  failure  to  grade  properly_-103-109 

Grading   products    co-operatively 27,  118-119,  132,  141,  168-169,  198 

Grain  elevators,  co-operative 80,  87-89 

Grange  indorsed .' 29,     56 

Green,  J.  Z.,  quoted 53-54 

Haggard,  Rider,  quoted 172-173.  199 

Happiness  through  service 8-9,     17 

Helplessness  of  individual  shippers 117 

High  schools,  Denmark's  remarkable 209-212 

Home  ownership  essential  to  development  of  co-operation 171-175 

187,  219 


242  INDEX 

PAGE 

Illinois,  co-operative  insurance  in 142-143 

Incorporating,  advantages  of   72 

Statement  of   purposes    73 

Initiative  and  referendum  in  co-operative  business 234 

Inspection  of  products 118-119,  138 

Insurance,  co-operative  or  mutual,  fire,  etc 14,  126,  135,  142-146 

182,  203 

Accident   , 183 

Ireland,  co-operation  in 148-170 

Land  courts   174 

Land  ownership,  Ireland  169 

England    172 

France    178 

Denmark 187 

Land  purchase  co-operatively 189-190 

Land  purchase,  government  aid  to,  Ireland 49,  169,  190 

New  Zealand 49 

Denmark   189-191,  192 

Land  taxes,  graduated 174 

Laundry,   co-operative    94-97 

Leadership,  an  appeal  for 7-9,     17 

Live  stock,  co-operative  purchase  of  pure-bred  sires 13,  66,  182,  184 

215 

Live  stock,  co-operative  shipping 98-99 

Live  stock,  insurance 145-146,  183 

Loans,  expensiveness  of,  under  ordinary  banking 157-158,  161 

Love  of  one's  fellows  necessary 9-10 

Machinery,  co-operative  use  of 10-11,  63-64,  164,  181-182 

Maine,   co-operative  insurance   in 142 

Manufacturers,  Danish,  how  farmers  brought  them  to  terms 216 

Marketing  crops   co-operatively 11,  13,  65,  67-69,  185 

Membership,  limited  to  farmers 224,  230 

Merchants,  Danish,  oppose  co-operative  buying 215-217 

Minnesota,    co-operation   in 75 

Need   for   co-operation   7 

New  members  must  not  be  debarred 71,     77 

North  Carolina,  work  of  Farmers'  Union 59-60 

Fire   insurance   143-144 

Notice    of    meetings 227,  229,  230 


INDEX  243 

PAGE 

Oklahoma,  cotton  marketing  studies 107-108 

Old   men  alert  209 

One-horse   farmers,   co-operation  in  plowing 193 

"One  man,  one  vote" 70,  119,  161,  197,  204 

Organizing  a  co-operative  society 70-74 

Packing  and  shipping,  importance  of  instruction 168-169 

Pastors,  country,  their  influence 78-79,  153 

Patronage  dividends,  discussed  and  illustrated— 69,  71,  77,  79,  82,  86-87 

119,  124,  153,  176,  197,  232,  233,  234 

Plunkett,  Sir  Horace,  quoted 58,  147,  166-167 

Political  prestige  through  organization 166,  179,  207,  220 

Pooling  prices  116 

Potato  marketing  co-operatively 113-122,  127-128 

Poultry,  co-operative  marketing 123-125,  151-154,  192,  204-205 

Production,  economical  and  scientific  urged 60-61,  166-169,  200 

"Productive  purposes,"  loans  limited .' 156,  158-159 

Profits,  increased  through  co-operation 94,  97,  98,  131,  135,  140,  143 

152-153,  158,  159,  166,  204 

Promptness  as  an  asset  180-181 

Proxy   voting   230 

Quality  products,  importance  of__16,  77,  115,  118,  150,  198,  200,  203,  206 

Quality,  guaranteeing  it  by  identifying  product 93,  118,  138-139,  205 

Quality  products,  insured  by  inspection 214-215 

QuaHties  of   leadership 9 

Race  problem  and  co-operation  in  Southern  States 16-17 

Raiffeisen  credit  society 155 

Railroad    rates    93,  134,  184 

Raw  material,  dividends  on 227 

Reading,  importance  of  84 

Regularity   of   service  important 68,  150,  193 

Reserve    fund,  necessity   for  establishing 71,  227 

Right  Relationship  League,  mentioned 146 

Rochdale  pioneers  176-178 

"Roll  call  of  opinions,"  suggested  for  farmers'  clubs 30 

Rules  for  co-operation,  thirteen  fundamental 70-71 

Rural  credits  7,  27,  43-44,  47-55,  155-163,  217 

Russell,  Geo.  W.,  quoted 30,    40 

Savings  habit  must  be  encouraged 54-55 

School  tax  in   Svea,   Minn 82 

Secretary's  duties  226 


244  INDEX 

PAGE 

Seeds,  co-operative  wholesale  society 216 

Share  holding,  individual,  limited  to  10  per  cent 225 

Shares,  how  offered  for  sale  or  transferred 224,  230 

Shares,  right  of  organization  to  buy 224 

Shares,  should  be  small 70,     73 

Shuford,   W.   J.,   quoted 144 

Size  of  farms  in  Denmark 219 

Social  life,  co-operation  to  improve  it 85,  184,  209-211 

Stopford,  E.  A.,  quoted 179-180,  185 

Surveys,    rural    33-35,  128 

Svea,  Minn.  75-89 

Swindler,  how  he  robbed  Danish  co-operative  societies 218-219 

Telephones,  rural  9,    77 

Tenancy,  ruinous  to  agricultural  development 171-172,  174-175 

"Time  prices,"  heavy  cost  of 43-44 

Torrens  system  land  titles  explained 51-53 

Town  patrons  for  co-operative  stores 86 

Trust  competition 89 

Volume  of  business,  should  be  assured 216 

Warehouses 45-47 

Warehousing,  co-operative  for  cotton  growers 100-103 

Water  supply,  co-operative 189,  199-200 

Weather  damage  on  cotton 101-102 

WilHams,  C.   B.,  quoted  88 

Wholesale  societies,  Irish  151,  153 

English  176-177 

Woman's  work  and  organizations 10,  32-33,  85,  97,  129 

Ireland   165-166,  170 

Denmark 209 


Other  Books 

by  Clarence  Poe : 


COTTON:  ITS  CULTIVATION,  MARKET- 
ING AND  MANUFACTURE.  (Written  in  col- 
laboration with  Dr.  C.  W.  Burkett.)  331  pp.  Illus- 
trated.    Price,  $2.20. 

THE  LIFE  AND  SPEECHES  OF  CHARLES 
B.  AYCOCK.  (Written  in  collaboration  with  R.  D. 
W.  Connor.)     369  pp.     $1.50 

A  SOUTHERNER  IN  EUROPE.  (Travel  Let- 
ters from  England,  Scotland,  France,  Germany,  Bel- 
gium, Switzerland  and  Italy.)  "It  is  equally  fresh  and 
graphic  in  its  pictures,  judicious  and  penetrating  in  its 
reflections  .  .  .  singularly  fair  and  acute." — Ambassador 
James  Brycc  of  Great  Britain.  "Many  a  man  will 
learn  more  from  it  than  he  would  from  a  trip  to 
Europe  itself." — Charlotte  Observer.     162  pp.     75  cents. 

WHERE  HALF  THE  WORLD  IS  WAKING 

UP.  (Travel  Letters  from  Japan,  Korea,  Manchuria, 
China,  the  Philippines  and  India.)  "There  is  not  a 
dull  line  in  it," — Dallas  News.  "The  fairest  modern 
model  of  a  trustworthy  book  on  the  Orient." — Phila- 
delphia North  American.  "It  is  as  readable  as  a  novel. 
It  is  as  full  of  facts  as  a  history.  It  is  as  full  of  life  as 
a  drama.  It  is  fully  up-to-date  and  needs  immediate 
attention." — Brooklyn  Eagle.  276  pp.  Illustrated.  $1.37. 

ADDRESS  ALL  ORDERS  TO 

THE  PROGRESSIVE  FARMER 

RALEIGH,   N.  C,         BIRMINGHAM,   ALA.,         OR   DALLAS,  TEX. 


The    Book  You  Have  Been  Waiting  For 

"Where  Half  the  World  is 
Waking  Up" 

BY 
CLARENCE   POE 

Twenty-six  fascinating  chapters  and  32  full  pages  of 
wonderful  photographs  that  will  make  you  feel  as  if  you 
had  yourself  seen  all  the  strange  lands  and  peoples  of 
the  waking  Orient — China,  Japan,  Manchuria,  Korea, 
the  Philipines,  and  India.  276  pages.  Handsome  cloth 
binding.      Price,  $1.50. 


A  Few  Typical  Opinions: 


Hon-.  C.  S.  BARRETT, 
President  National  Farmers' 
Union:  "I  was  up  nearly  all 
night  reading  your  book, 
'Where  Half  the  World  is 
W^aking  Up.'  Read  every  line 
of  it.  It  is  fine.  My  boys  are 
now  reading  it.  It  is  the  first 
time  I  have  read  a  book  through 
in  several  years;  that  is,  read 
every  line  of  one;  as  I  have 
been  so  very  busy  with  my 
Farmers'  Union  work." 

J.  C.  HARDY,  Ex-Presi- 
dent Mississippi  A.  &  M. 
College:  "I  have  enjoyed  it 
more  than  I  can  tell  you.  When 
I  had  completed  the  book, 
I  almost  felt  that  I  had  made 
the  trip  myself." 


JOHN  SHARP  WILLIAMS, 
'U.  S.  Senator  from  Mississippi: 
"I  cannot  refrain  from  writing 
to  tell  you  how  much  pleased  I 
am  with  your  book.  It  is  so 
thoroughly  practical,  indulging 
in  no  unnecessary  words  and 
going  right  to  the  heart  of  the 
salient  and  important  things." 

WILL  N.  HARBEN, 
Author  of  "Dixie  Hart," 
"Ann  Boyd,"  etc. :  "Decidedly 
well-written,  careful  and  most 
interesting.  You  have  made 
me  feel  as  if  I  were  with  you 
through  all  your  journey." 

CONSTITUTION,  Atlante, 
Ga. :  "It  is  written  in  a  style 
that  is  more  than  attractive, 
drawing  the  reader  on  as  the 
pages  of  an  entertaining  novel." 


i 


Get  a  Copy  of 

"Fertilizing  for  Profit 


>  > 


BY 
E.   E.   MILLER 


It  is  the  best  book  on  its  subject  for  a  man  with  no 
previous  knowledge  of  the  subject  that  I  have  ever  seen. 
In  fact,  I  know  nothing  to  compare  with  it  in  usefulness 
for  the  farmer  reader." — Prof.  C  A.  Keffer 


CHAPTER 

I. 

II. 

III. 

IV. 

V. 

VI. 

VII. 

VIII. 

IX. 

X. 

XL 

XII. 

XIII. 

XIV. 

XV. 

XVI. 

XVII. 

XVIII. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


What  Fertilizers  Are  and  Why  Used 

What  Commercial  Fertilizers  Are 

What  Nitrogen  Does  and  How  we  Get  It 

About  Phosphoric  Acid 

Potash  in  Commercial  Fertilizers 

Why  Fertilizers  Pay  Best  on  Good  Soils 

How  to  Tell  What  Fertilizer  a  Soil  Needs 

The  Special  Needs  of  Different  Crops 

What  the  Analysis  Means     . 

How  to  Do  Home  Mixing 

Best  Methods  of  Applj'ing  Fertilizers 

A  Brief  Review  of  Foregoing  Chapters 

Keeping  Up  Soil  Fertility 

Why  Green  Manures  Benefit  the  Soil 

When  and  How  to  Use  Green  Manures 

Making  and  Caring  for  Stable  Manures 

How  and  When  to  Apply  Stable  Manure 

The  Profitable  Use  of  Lime  .       .       *       , 


APPENDIX 


Plant  Food  in  Typical  Soils     .... 

What  Crops  Take  From  the  Soil    . 

Fertilizing  Materials  in  Feeding  Stuffs 

Analysis  of  Fertilizing  Materials  . 

Value  of  Manure  Produced  by  Live  Stock 

Composition  of  Farm  Manures 

Ten  Sample  Mixtures  that  Farmers  Can  Make 

PRICE  75  CENTS 


Address,  THE  PROGRESSIVE  FARM  CO. 
Birmingham,   Ala.,         Raleigh,   N.   C.         Dallas,   Texas 


PAGE 

9 
14. 
18 
23 
27 
31 
36 
43 
50 
62 
58 
62 
68 
73 
77 
83 
87 
91 


95 
96 
99 
101 
102 
102 
104 


STANDARD  BOOKS 

PUBLISHED   BY 

ORANGE  JUDD  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 

Ashland  Building  People's  Gas  Building 

315-321  Fourth  Avenue  ISO    Michigan  Avenue 


An^  of  these  hooks  Ti^i'd  he  sent  fcp  maiU  postpaid,  to 
any  part  of  the  rvorld,  on  receipt  of  catalog  price.  We  are 
alwavs  happ})  to  correspond  with  our  patrons,  and  cordially 
invite  them  to  address  us  on  any  matter  pertaining  to  rural 
books.  Send  for  our  large  illustrated  catalog,  free  on  appli- 
cation. 


First  Principles  of  Soil  Fertility 

By  Alfred  Vivian.  There  is  no  subject  of  more  ^ital 
importance  to  the  farmer  than  that  of  the  best  method 
of  maintaining  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  very  evident 
decrease  in  the  fertility  of  those  soils  which  have  been 
under  cultivation  for  a  number  of  years,  cornbined  with 
the  increased  competition  and  the  advanced  price  of  labor, 
have  convinced  the  intelligent  farmer  that  the  agriculture 
of  the  future  must  be  based  upon  more  rational  practices 
than  those  which  have  been  followed  in  the  past.  We 
have  felt  for  some  time  that  there  was  a  place  for  a 
brief,  and  at  the  same  time  comprehensive,  treatise  on 
this  important  subject  of  Soil  Fertility.  Professor  Vivian's 
experience  as  a  teacher  in  the  short  winter  courses  has 
admirably  fitted  him  to  present  this  matter  in  a  popular 
style.  In  this  little  book  he  has  given  the  gist  of  the 
subject  in  plain  language,  practically  devoid  of  technical 
and  scientific  terms.  It  is  pre-eminently  a  "First  Book, 
and  will  be  found  especially  valuable  to  those  who  desire 
an  introduction  to  the  subject,  and  who  intend  to  do  subse- 
quent reading.     Illustrafd.    5x7  inches.    265  pages.     Cloth. 

Net,  $1.00 

The  Study  of  Com 

By  Prof.  V.  M.  Shoesmith.  A  most  helpful  book  to  all 
farmers  and  students  interested  in  the  selection  and  im- 
provement of  corn.  It  is  profusely  illustrated  from  photo- 
graphs, all  of  which  carry  their  own  story  and  contribute 
their  part  in  making  pictures  and  text  matter  a  clear,  con- 
cise and  interesting  study  of  corn.  Illustrated.  5x7  inches. 
100  pages.     Cloth-    -    -    -         -..-...    Net,  $0.50 

(1) 


Soils 

By  ChAMLES  William  Burkett,  Director  Kansas  Agri- 
cultural Experiment  Station.  The  most  complete  and 
popular  work  of  the  kind  ever  published.  As  a  rule,  a 
book  of  this  sort  is  dry  and  uninteresting,  but  in  this  case 
it  reads  like  a  novel.  The  author  has  put  into  it  his  in- 
dividuality. The  story  of  the  properties  of  the  soils,  their 
improvement  and  management,  as  well  as  a  discussion  of 
the  problems  of  crop  growing  and  crop  feeding,  make  this 
book  equally  valuable  to  the  farmer,  student  and  teacher. 
Illustrated.    303  pages.    5j/2x8  inches.    Cloth.     .     Net,  $1.25 

Weeds  of  the  Farm  Garden 

By  L.  H.  Pammel.  The  enormous  losses,  amounting 
to  several  hundred  million  dollars  annually  in  the  United 
States,  caused  by  weeds  stimulate  us  to  adopt  a  better 
system  of  agriculture.  The  weed  question  is,  therefore 
a  most  important  and  vital  one  for  American  farmer! 
This  treatise  will  enable  the  farmer  to  treat  his  field  to 
remove  weeds.  The  book  is  profusely  illustrated  by  photo- 
graphs and  drawings  made  expressly  for  this  work,  and 
will  prove  invaluable  to  every  farmer,  land  owner,  gar- 
dener and  park  superintendent.  5x7  inches.  300  pages. 
Cloth Net,  $1.50 

Farm  Machinery  and  Farm  Motors 

By  J.  B.  Davidson  and  L.  W.  Chase.  Farm  Machinery 
and  Farm  Motors  is  the  first  American  book  published 
on  the  subject  of  Farm  Machinery  since  that  written  by 
J.  J.  Thomas  in  1867.  This  was  before  the  development 
of  many  of  the  more  important  farm  machines,  and  the 
general  application  of  power  to  the  work  of  the  farm. 
Modern  farm  machinery  is  indispensable  in  present-day 
farming  operations,  and  a  practical  book  like  Farm  Ma- 
chinery and  Farm  Motors  will  fill  a  much-felt  need.  The 
book  has  been  written  from  lectures  used  by  the  authors 
before  their  classes  for  several  years,  and  which  were  pre- 
pared from  practical  experience  and  a  thorough  review  of 
the  literature  pertaining  to  the  subject.  Although  written 
primarily  as  a  text-book,  it  is  equally  useful  for  the  prac- 
tical farmer.  Profusely  illustrated.  SJ^xB  inches.  520 
pages.     Cloth Net,  $2.00 

The  Book  of  Wheat 

By  P.  T.  DoNDLiNGER.  This  book  comprises  a  complete 
study  of  everything  pertaining  to  wheat.  It  is  the  work 
of  a  student  of  economic  as  well  as  agricultural  condi- 
tions, well  fitted  by  the  broad  experience  in  both  practical 
and  theoretical  lines  to  tell  the  whole  story  in  a  condensed 
form.  It  is  designed  for  the  farmer,  the  teacher,  and  the 
student  as  well.  Illustrated,  5>^x8  inches.  370  pages. 
Cloth.    ...  .„.„....    Net,  $2.00 

<4) 


The  Cereals  in  America 

By  Thomas  F.  Hunt,  M.S.,  D.Agri.,  Professor  of  Agron* 
omy,  Cornell  University.  If  you  raise  five  acres  of  any  kind 
of  grain  you  cannot  afford  to  be  without  this  book.  It  is  in 
every  way  the  best  book  on  the  subject  that  has  ever  been 
written.  It  treats  of  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  every 
grain  crop  raised  in  America  in  a  thoroughly  practical  and 
accurate  manner.  The  subject-matter  includes  a  comprehen- 
sive and  succinct  treatise  of  wheat,  maize,  oats,  barley,  rye, 
rice,  sorghum  (kafir  corn)  and  buckwheat,  as  related  particu- 
larly to  American  conditions.  First-hand  knowledge  has  been 
the  policy  of  the  author  in  his  work,  and  every  crop  treated  is 
presented  in  the  light  of  individual  study  of  the  plant.  If  you 
have  this  book  you  have  the  latest  and  best  that  has  been 
written  upon  the  subject  Illustrated.  450  pages.  55^x8 
inches.     Cloth $1-75 

The  Forage  and  Fiber  Crops  in  America 

By  Thomas  F.  Hunt.  This  book  is  exactly  what  its  title 
indicates.  It  is  indispensable  to  the  farmer,  student  and 
teacher  who  wishes  all  the  latest  and  most  important  informa- 
tion on  the  subject  of  forage  and  fiber  crops.  Like  its  famous 
companion,  "The  Cereals  in  America,"  by  the  same  author,  it 
treats  of  the  cultivation  and  improvement  of  every  one  of  the 
forage  and  fiber  crops.  With  this  book  in  hand,  you  have 
the  latest  and  most  up-to-date  information  available.  Illus- 
trated. 428  pages.    5j^x8  inches.     Cloth $1-75 

The  Book  of  Alfalfa 

History,  Cultivation  and  Merits.  Its  Uses  as  a  Forage 
and  Fertilizer.  The  appearance  of  the  Hon.  F.  D.  Coburn's 
little  book  on  Alfalfa  a  few  years  ago  has  been  a  profit  revela- 
tion to  thousands  of  farmers  throughout  the  country,  and  the 
increasing  demand  for  still  more  information  on  the  subject 
has  induced  the  author  to  prepare  the  present  volume,  which 
is  by  far  the  most  authoritative,  complete  and  valuable  work 
on  this  forage  crop  published  anywhere.  It  is  printed  on  fine 
paper  and  illustrated  with  many  full-page  photographs  that 
were  taken  with  the  especial  view  of  their  relation  to  the  text. 
336  pages.  6^  X  9  inches.  Bound  in  cloth,  with  gold  stamp- 
ing. It  is  unquestionably  the  handsomest  agricultural  refer- 
ence book  that  has  ever  been  issued.    Price,  postpaid,  .     $2.00 

Clean  Milk 

By  S.  D.  Belcher,  M.D.  In  this  book  the  author  sets  forth 
practical  methods  for  the  exclusion  of  bacteria  from  milk, 
and  how  to  prevent  contamination  of  milk  from  the  stable 
to   the   consumer.     Illustrated.     5x7    inches.      146   pages. 

Cloth ....     $100 

(S) 


Farm  Grasses  of  the  United  States  of  America 

By  William  Jasper  Spillman.  A  practical  treatise  on 
the  grass  crop,  seeding  and  management  of  meadows  and 
pastures,  description  of  the  best  varieties,  the  seed  and  its 
impurities,  grasses  for  special  conditions,  lawns  and  lawn 
grasses,  etc.,  etc.  In  preparing  this  volume  the  author's  object 
has  been  to  present,  in  connected  form,  the  main  facts  con- 
cerning the  grasses  grown  on  American  farms.  Every  phase 
of  the  subject  is  viewed  from  the  farmer's  standpoint.  Illus- 
trated.   248  pages.    5x7  inches.    Cloth $1.0 

The  Book  of  Com 

By  Herbert  Myrick,  assisted  by  A.  D.  Shambia,  E.  A 
Burnett,  Albert  W.  Fulton,  B.  W.  Snow,  and  other  most 
capable  specialists.  A  complete  treatise  on  the  culture,  mar- 
keting and  uses  of  maize  in  America  and  elsewhere  for 
farmers,  dealers  and  others.  Illustrated.  372  pages.  5x7 
inches.     Cloth $i-50 

The  Hop — Its  Culture  and  Care,   Marketing  and 
Manufacture 

By  Herbert  Myrick.  A  practical  handbook  on  the  most 
approved  methods  in  growing,  harvesting,  curing  and  selling 
hops,  and  on  the  use  and  manufacture  of  hops.  The  result  ofi 
years  of  research  and  observation,  it  is  a  volume  destined  to 
be  an  authority  on  this  crop  for  many  years  to  come.  It  takes 
up  every  detail  from  preparing  the  soil  and  laying  out  the 
yard,  to  curing  and  selling  the  crop.  Every  line  represents  the 
ripest  judgment  and  experience  of  experts.  Size,  5x8; 
pages,  300;  illustrations,  nearly  150;  bound  in  cloth  and  gold; 
price,  postpaid. $i-50 

Tobacco  Leaf 

By  J.  B.  Killebrew  and  Herbert  Myrick.  Its  Culture  and 
Cure,  Marketing  and  Manufacture.  A  practical  handbook 
on  the  most  approved  methods  in  growing,  harvesting,  curing, 
packing  and  selling  tobacco,  with  an  account  of  the  opera- 
tions in  every  department  of  tobacco  manufacture.  The 
contents  of  this  book  are  based  on  actual  experiments  in  field, 
curing  barn,  packing  house,  factory  and  laboratory.  It  is  the 
only  work  of  the  kind  in  existence,  and  is  destined  to  be  the 
standard  practical  and  scientific  authority  on  the  whole  sub- 
ject of  tobacco  for  many  years.  506  pages  and  150  original 
engravings.    5x7  inches.    Cloth $2.00 

19) 


Feeding  Farm  Animals 

By  Professor  Thomas  Shaw.  This  book  is  intended  alike 
for  the  student  and  the  farmer.  The  author  has  succeeded  in 
giving  in  regular  and  orderly  sequence,  and  in  language  so 
simple  that  a  child  can  understand  it,  the  principles  that  govern 
the  science  and  practice  of  feeding  farm  animals.  Professor 
Shaw  is  certainly  to  be  congratulated  on  the  successful  man- 
ner in  which  he  has  accomplished  a  most  diflficult  task.  His 
book  is  unquestionably  the  most  practical  work  which  has  ap- 
peared on  the  subject  of  feeding  farm  animals.  Illustrated. 
5J/2  X  8  inches.    Upward  of  500  pages.    Cloth.     .     .     .     $2.00 

Profitable  Dairying 

By  C.  L.  Peck.  A  practical  guide  to  successful  dairy  man- 
agement. The  treatment  of  the  entire  subject  is  thoroughly 
practical,  being  principally  a  description  of  the  methods  prac- 
ticed by  the  author.  A  specially  valuable  part  of  this  book 
consists  of  a  minute  description  of  the  far-famed  model  dairy 
farm  of  Rev.  J.  D.  Detrich,  near  Philadelphia,  Pa.  On  the 
farm  of  fifteen  acres,  which  twenty  years  ago  could  not  main- 
tain one  horse  and  two  cows,  there  are  now  kept  twenty-seven 
dairy  cattle,  in  addition  to  two  horses.  All  the  roughage, 
litter,  bedding,  etc.,  necessary  for  these  animals  are  grown  on 
these  fifteen  acres,  more  than  most  farmers  could  accomplish 
on  one  hundred  acres.  Illustrated.  5x7  inches.  200  pages. 
Cloth $0.75 

Practical  Dairy  Bacteriology 

By  Dr.  H.  W.  Conn,  of  Wesleyan  University.  A  complete 
exposition  of  important  facts  concerning  the  relation  of  bac- 
teria to  various  problems  related  to  milk.  A  book  for  the 
classroom,  laboratory,  factory  and  farm.  Equally  useful  to 
the  teacher,  student,  factory  man  and  practical  dairyman. 
Fully  illustrated  with  83  original  pictures.  340  pages.  Cloth. 
514  X  8  inches $i-25 

Modern     Methods     of    Testing     Milk    and     Milk 
Products 

By  L.  L.  VanSlyke.  This  is  a  clear  and  concise  discussion 
of  the  approved  methods  of  testing  milk  and  milk  products. 
All  the  questions  involved  in  the  various  methods  of  testing 
milk  and  cream  are  handled  with  rare  skill  and  yet  in  so  plain 
a  manner  that  they  can  be  fully  understood  by  all.  The  book 
should  be  in  the  hands  of  every  dairyman,  teacher  or  student. 
Illustrated.    214  pages.    5x7  inches $0.75 

(12) 


Animal  Breeding 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  This  book  is  the  most  complete  and 
comprehensive  work  ever  published  on  the  subject  of  which 
it  treats.  It  is  the  first  book  which  has  systematized  the  sub- 
ject of  animal  breeding.  The  leading  laws  which  govern  this 
most  intricate  question  the  author  has  boldly  defined  and 
authoritatively  arranged.  The  chapters  which  he  has  written 
on  the  more  involved  features  of  the  subject,  as  sex  and  the 
relative  influence  of  parents,  should  go  far  toward  setting  at 
rest  the  wildly  speculative  views  cherished  with  reference  to 
these  questions.  The  striking  originality  in  the  treatment  of 
the  subject  is  no  less  conspicuous  than  the  superb  order  and 
regular  sequence  of  thought  from  the  beginning  to  the  end 
of  the  book.  The  book  is  intended  to  meet  the  needs  of  all 
persons  interested  in  the  breeding  and  rearing  of  live  stock. 
Illustrated.    405  pages.    5x7  inches.     Cloth.     .     .     .     $1.50 

Forage  Crops  Other  Than  Grasses 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  How  to  cultivate,  harvest  and  use 
them.  Indian  corn,  sorghum,  clover,  leguminous  plants,  crops 
of  the  brassica  genus,  the  cereals,  millet,  field  roots,  etc. 
Intensely  practical  and  reliable.  Illustrated.  287  pages.  5x7 
inches.     Cloth $1.00 

Soiling  Crops  and  the  Silo 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  The  growing  and  feeding  of  all  kinds 
of  soiling  crops,  conditions  to  which  they  are  adapted,  their 
plan  in  the  rotation,  etc.  Not  a  line  is  repeated  from  the 
Forage  Crops  book.  Best  methods  of  building  the  silo,  filling 
it  and  feeding  ensilage.  Illustrated.  364  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.50 

The  Study  of  Breeds 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  Origin,  history,  distribution,  charac- 
teristics, adaptability,  uses,  and  standards  of  excellence  of  all 
pedigreed  breeds  of  cattle,  sheep  and  swine  in  America.  The 
accepted  text  book  in  colleges,  and  the  authority  for 
farmers  and  breeders.  Illustrated.  371  pages.  5x7  inches. 
Cloth $1.50 

Clovers  and  How  to  Grow  Them 

By  Thomas  Shaw.  This  is  the  first  book  published  which 
treats  on  the  growth,  cultivation  and  treatment  of  clovers  as 
applicable  to  all  parts  of  the  United  States  and  Canada,  and 
which  takes  up  the  entire  subject  in  a  systematic  way  and 
consecutive  sequence.  The  importance  of  clover  in  the  econ- 
omy of  the  farm  is  so  great  that  an  exhaustive  work  on  this 
subject  will  no  doubt  be  welcomed  by  students  in  agriculture, 
as  well  as  by  all  who  are  interested  in  the  tilling  of  the  soil. 
Illustrated.    5x7  inches.    337  pages.    Cloth.    Net    .     .     $1.00 

(13) 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 

This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


rm  L9-Series4939 


§: 


o  — 


,i«l 

3  1158  00874  5795 


t 


PLEA*^^  DO  NOT  REMOVE 
THIS  BOOK  CARD 


'^  1  i  r^   ^ 


University  Research  Library 


X 

UJ 


1  .^j 


